[UPDATED] Zahid cries defamation, sues Mkini for RM220 mil

KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is suing Malaysiakini for RM220 million, saying the news portal has defamed him.

A writ of summons was filed at the high court on March 24, according to Suara Merdeka.

His claim is based on 22 articles carried by the portal on Zahid’s ongoing corruption trial.

Malaysiakini said that the articles cited include four Bernama articles, as well as readers' comments, with the suit naming editor-in-chief Steven Gan and a journalist as defendants.

Zahid’s claim said the articles either misreported or misrepresented the court proceedings and puts him in a negative light.

He is also seeking an injunction preventing the publication of further defamatory articles and comments by users of the site.

The suit was filed by Messrs Shahrul Hamidi & Haziq.

Last week, the prosecution closed its case after calling 99 witnesses.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah fixed June 28 to 30, and July 1 and 2, for parties to appear before him for oral clarification, before deciding whether to acquit Zahid on all 47 charges or order him to enter his defence.

Zahid, 68, has pleaded not guilty at the sessions court here to 12 counts of criminal breach of trust, eight counts of bribery and 27 counts of money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit linked to Yayasan Akalbudi.

For the CBT charges, Zahid was alleged to have used the funds to make six payments for his personal credit cards, insurance policy and licence for his personal vehicles, remittances to a law firm and contributions to the Royal Malaysia Police Football Association.

The charges come under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of between two and 20 years, as well as whipping and fine, upon conviction.

He is also charged with eight counts of bribery, where he was alleged to have accepted bribes from three companies as an inducement for him, in his capacity as then home minister, to help the companies obtain MyEG projects, supply passport chips and be appointed the operator of the migrant visa one-stop centres in Pakistan and Nepal, respectively.

He faces 27 charges of money laundering by engaging in direct transactions involving income from illegal activities between March 29, 2016, and April 11, 2018.

He also faces 40 charges of having accepted bribes from a company over the overseas visa system at the Shah Alam sessions court, which brings the total number of charges against him to 87. – The Vibes, March 26, 2021