Najib accepts Malaysiakini’s apology…

…and praised it’s reporter, Wong Choon Mei, who had written a report on a manifesto from a 'support group' which was wrongly attributed to him, as having shown "high values of professionalism" in claiming responsibility for the error.

Wong had resigned yesterday. (read here )

The Deputy Prime Minister said he was satisfied with the apology issued by the news portal.

“I accept the apology or decision to seek an apology by the editor of Malaysiakini on the publishing of the completely untrue manifesto that I (purportedly) issued.

"Secondly, I want to state that the journalist who resigned over the said article has shown high values of professionalism as she has demonstrated her responsibility (and) accountability for the story which is not at all true," he said.

"The question is the guilty quarters - the real culprits - behind the report are still hiding and we still do not know who is responsible for the said story," added Najib, who is also Umno deputy-president.

Asked if any investigation would be carried out to determine those quarters behind the manifesto, Najib said he would "leave it to the authorities." – Malaysiakini full report here.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Datuk Syed Hamid Albar was reported as saying that police will only investigate Malaysiakini's misleading report on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak if a report was lodged.

Syed Hamid Albar said this when asked to comment on the Internet news portal which carried the article on Sunday.

The news portal has since apologised to Najib.

Syed Hamid said Malaysiakini's apology was insufficient as it should be accountable for its publication.

"If you keep on putting in false reports and then you apologise, that's not good...I think the media has to be equally responsible for what they are doing," he said. ( The Sun here)

Malaysiakini journalist resigns...

... and takes responsibility for the error over Najib 'manifesto' report.

"It is my fault and I stand ready to take full responsibility and resign," said Wong Choon Mei, who wrote the news report DPM unveils manifesto for top Umno job from a ‘support group’ and which was wrongly attributed to Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.

Wong joined Malaysiakini three months ago and has been a journalist for 10 years with stints in The Edge, Reuters and Channel News Asia.

Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan said the news organisation was upset over the incident, adding that the report should not have been published.

"It was a serious misjudgement on her part and we accept her resignation," said Gan.

Wong conceded that she had not verified the contents of the ‘manifesto’ with Najib's office. She had received it by e-mail on Sunday.

The report was uploaded late that night without going through the standard double-checking by a second editor. Wong was the editor on duty for that day.

"We deeply regret the error," said Gan. – Malaysiakini

Najib denies ‘manifesto’

“It’s a falsehood,” was the terse reply from a Najib aide this morning when asked about the manifesto, noting that Umno candidates do not usually issue manifestos in party election campaigns.

The manifesto, among others, said Najib will defend Malay supremacy, set up a council of presidential advisers apart from denouncing a string of allegations against him and vowing to use all means to destroy elements that threaten the stability and peace of the country.

Malaysiakini did not retract the report but issued a clarification that the manifesto came from a support group and was not sanctioned by Najib.

The deputy prime minister’s recently launched website — http://www.1malaysia.com.my/ — did not have the manifesto but had a statement on the party elections datelined Oct 19. Continue... here.

Press statement from the DPM's office: here.