Watch what you say, Najib tells Umno members

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Najib Tun Razak today reminded Umno members to be always careful in making statements or stating opinions because this would in a way affect how others viewed the party.

Any statement or view expressed by Umno members should not be in conflict with the principles and struggles of the party, said Najib, who is also the Prime Minister.

Speaking to reporters after chairing an Umno Supreme Council (MT) meeting here last night, he said statements members made would reflect Umno, the MT and the person himself.

“As an example, if we are Members of Parliament, what we say will have a bearing on how others view our calibre as Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs,” he said.

Najib said this when asked to comment on the action of BN MP for Kinabatangan Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin who tweeted ‘Well done… Bravo… Long live Hitler…’ moments after Germany thrashed hosts Brazil 7-1 in the their World Cup semi-final match on Wednesday.

Bung Mokhtar came under fire from many quarters over the tweet, which was deemed distasteful because it hailed Adolf Hitler, Germany’s Chancellor during the Second World War in which millions lost their lives.

Najib, however, said Umno did not have specific rules to punish members who issued opinions on social media deemed to be in conflict with the party’s principles.

He said each Umno member was now aware of this, and should not casually issue statements or views that were against the party’s principles and policies.

“That was why I took immediate decision to reprimand him (Bung Mokhtar), and he has apologised and withdrawn the statement,” he said.

Yesterday, Najib in his Twitter said Bung Mokhtar’s comments were unacceptable and wrong, and Bung Mokhtar would withdraw the comments.

Meantime, Najib said Umno divisional meetings, which will begin on August 8 would be extended to September 30.

The deadline given earlier for the meetings was September 14.

The decision was taken in view of the new dates for the party’s general assembly set for November 25-29. he said.

The original dates were from October 28 to November 1. - Bernama