THE lifestyles of the prime minister and his family must also be scrutinised and highlighted as they are also known for their lavishness, social media users said.

They were responding to reports in two pro-Umno newspapers today, Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian, which had highlighted the alleged lavish lifestyle of Meera Alyana Mukhriz, the granddaughter of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

According to Utusan’s Sunday Edition, Mingguan Malaysia, the front-page article under the headline “Meera Alyana Mukhriz’s celebrity lifestyle”, was based on a Facebook posting by a group called “Sudahlah Mahathir”.

Facebook users like Daniel Mikael and Zailani Ariffin urged the pro-Umno papers to also highlight Najib’s family wealth as Mukhriz, who is Meera Alyana’s father, did not “steal the nation’s money”.

“Did her father (Mukhriz) steal the nation’s money? Did her father bring calamity to the nation? The question of her living a grand life is her problem (because it is her money). The problem now is high cost of living, unemployment, taxes and tolls,” Zailani Ariffin commented.

“Why didn’t they splash the ostentatious lifestyles of Najib’s wife and children and their cronies? Don’t trust any of the stories printed by Umno-owned media,” Subramaniam Applanaidu commented.

“Her father’s business (can sustain her), what about Najib’s son?” asked Daniel Mikael.

Other Facebook users pointed out that unlike Najib, Mukhriz Mahathir has held various posts in several business firms and is a successful businessman, which may have contributed to Alyana’s lifestyle.

“Her father is a businessman, there isn’t any problem if he (Mukhriz) wants to spend on his daughter,” commented Dedi Diya.

“Let her life be, she earned her money, as long as she doesn’t take money from the public,” said another Facebook user Wan Hamid.

“Their news is so annoying. That’s not GST money, not 1MDB money. So we don’t care about her wealth. Our concern is where did the 1MDB money go,” Zul Said commented.

User Angelina Andreas and Mohamed Reza Arabi even said Mukhriz should take legal action aganst the two Bahasa Malaysia newspapers.

“They should sue this Utusan to clear their name, and if it qualifies for defamation, it is a sure win,” Angelina Andreas said.

“Let Mukhriz take legal action,” Mohamed Reza Arabi said.

Dr Mahathir’s daughter, Marina, had earlier responded to the two news reports saying it was a desperate attempt to draw attention away from the 1MDB scandal.

“Desperate people trying to distract from this (the 1MDB scandal),” Marina told The Malaysian Insight.

Dr Mahathir has been the chairman of opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan since July and is the most vocal critic of the Najib administration, accusing the prime minister of stealing billions from the country’s coffers. – November 12, 2017.