MIRI – The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) leaders need to stop using legal action to suppress the voice of opposition lawmakers, said Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) president Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh on the heels of his win in a defamation suit filed by the state’s ruling coalition.
The Kuching High Court has made it clear that opposition lawmakers have the right to speak up and question the state government over matters of public interest, he told a press conference in Sibu today.
Wong, who was the state opposition leader before the dissolution of the assembly, said elected representatives – especially those in opposition – are the voice of the rakyat.
“Being the voice of the rakyat means we in opposition have the right to question the ruling state government if there are issues that are not in the interest of the state and rakyat. The ruling government cannot use suits as a way to silence us.
“Whenever they file any suits against us, it means we cannot say anything on the subject matter anymore since the matter has been brought to court.
“So, by using suits, the ruling government is suppressing our voice and oppressing (those) who are speaking up on behalf of the rakyat.
“The high court ruling (in Kuching yesterday) has vindicated me and the court has made it clear that I hold no malice against the state government when I spoke out against the state government on its Petronas sales tax deal.”
He is the PSB candidate for the state seat of Bawang Assan in Sibu district.
Yesterday, the then GPS government lost a suit it initiated last year against Wong, with the court saying the defamation suit had no merit.
Wong in May last year questioned the manner in which the state government had reached a RM2 billion sales tax settlement agreement with national oil company Petronas over the sales of petroleum from Sarawak.
The court ruled that the state government was wrong to initiate the defamation suit against Wong as he had the right as an elected representative and opposition lawmaker to question matters of public interest.
The state government filed an appeal against the high court’s decision, but no dates have been fixed for the appeal hearing. – The Vibes, December 11, 2021
