CNA M’sia bureau chief tweets about Syed Saddiq “to grow up” but later takes it down and apologises

SINGAPORE: The Malaysia bureau chief of CNA weighed in with a personal opinion concerning Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, the former Muar MP who was found guilty on Thursday (Nov 9) by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on four charges of criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property and money laundering. Syed Saddiq was sentenced to seven years in jail, two strokes of the cane, and fined RM10 million (S$2.9 million), but said in a press conference after the verdict was announced that he would file an appeal. He is the first politician in Malaysia to face a caning sentence.

On X (formerly Twitter), CNA’s Melissa Goh posted, “Perhaps it’s time to grow up”, along with a short clip of an emotional Syed Saddiq during the press conference, reported Wake Up Singapore in a Facebook post. However, Ms Goh took the tweet down later and posted an apology on Friday (Nov 10). “Earlier, while covering a news event, I put up a post about Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman that was my personal opinion. I’ve since deleted the post. My apologies,” she wrote.

While some commenters commended her for walking back her earlier remark, others reminded her about how important it is for members of the media to stay impartial.

The 30-year-old former MP, who represented Muar in Parliament from 2018 to 2023 and had served as Malaysia’s Minister of Youth and Sports from 2018 to 2020, had once been the head of the youth wing of the Bersatu party. He left Bersatu in 2020 to form his own party, MUDA. In September, MUDA broke away from the coalition of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim because of concerns over graft.

“I respect the decision of the High Court and the High Court judge, and with that respect comes a sense of consistency in defending the institution of justice,” he said after the verdict was handed down.

Syed Saddiq added that he was not making a statement “in order to lambast, condemn, or disrepute the institution of justice. In the end, I am like any other Malaysian and should be judged like any other Malaysian.

And on this matter, after discussion with my esteemed colleagues and lawyers, we firmly believe that there is a strong case to be found in the Court of Appeal to clear my name. And I still insist that the best place to clear my name will be the court of law, and we look forward to filing the appeal immediately.” /TISG

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