Akmal said Nga should not have intimidated the reporter, adding that it was hypocritical of the DAP deputy chairman since Pakatan Harapan was critical of the previous Barisan Nasional government about media freedom.

“Today, when he’s a minister, he gets aggravated by a reporter’s question and even threatens to take action against the reporter,” the Melaka executive councillor said in a Facebook post.

Nga had reprimanded an Utusan Malaysia reporter at the pre-launch of the “I Lite U” project in Kuala Lumpur yesterday after he was purportedly asked why the name of the programme was in English instead of Malay.

The minister responded by asking the name of the media company the reporter was from and said he would “call your chief editors because this concerns national interests”.

Nga had also said the project was aimed at attracting tourists ahead of the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign and the English name would give foreign visitors a “sense of belonging”.

This was criticised by the National Union of Journalists Malaysia, which described the reprimand as unethical and belittling or exerting pressure on journalists.

Separately, MCA Youth information chief Neow Choo Seong said Nga’s actions were uncalled for and contradicted the spirit of the Madani government, which places emphasis on transparency and accountability.

Neow said the DAP minister should respect the role of the media in serving as a check and balance on the government.