Malaysiakini will not back down after Umno issued a letter of demand to two media outlets over reports on the party’s internal affairs which the party claimed were defamatory.

Umno has this week sent a letter of demand to independent new portal Malaysiakini and 24-hour news channel Astro Awani.

Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan said: "We will respond to the LOD.

"Malaysiakini will stand firm against any attempt to silence or intimidate us from providing the news and views that matter to the Malaysian public.”

Earlier, Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said his party had issued the letters which demanded a retraction, written apology and compensation of RM25 million in damages from each of the two media organisations.

Last Friday Malaysiakini reported on conflicting accounts of what transpired at the Umno political bureau meeting on Wednesday (Aug 24), a day after former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak failed to overturn his conviction and prison sentence.

The report quoted an Umno and government source as saying that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was purportedly told to hold the general election as soon as possible or be sacked from the party.

However, this was denied by the party's secretary general Ahmad Maslan.

Also in a report last week, Astro Awani ran a story saying a majority of Umno division leaders were against a proposal for Ismail Sabri to intervene in Najib’s SRC International appeal.

Asyraf said on Facebook that Umno Youth would not hesitate to take action against any party who slanders Umno.

“The time has come for Umno to act through legal channels as it has long allowed lies to spread, creating negative perceptions that harm both the party and its supporters,” he said.

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