UMNO Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has criticised Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming for failing to uphold the very principle of media freedom he once championed while in the opposition.

“The person who used to fiercely criticise the (then) government over media freedom when they were in the opposition, today, after becoming a minister, gets upset over journalists’ questions and even threatens to take action against them,” he said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

A video clip showing Nga, who is DAP deputy national chairman, scolding a journalist from Utusan Malaysia during a press event went viral on social media.

In the footage, Nga was seen asking the journalist which media outlet he represented. Upon hearing Utusan Malaysia, Nga said: “I’ll remember that, and I’ll be calling your chief editors. I don’t want you coming here and ruining the event with such a question. I’ll hold Utusan Malaysia accountable. I’ll call your chief editors because this concerns national interest.”

The exchange reportedly took place during the pre-launch of the “I Lite U” project on Wednesday, held in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2026, after the journalist asked why the programme’s name was in English instead of Malay.

In the video, Nga appeared to respond before reprimanding the reporter, explaining that the name was in English because it targeted an international audience in line with VM2026.

However, the issue is considered closed when Nga hosted a dinner for some editors on Sunday.