KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has sent a letter of demand to Baling MP Hassan Saad to explain why he accused the newly minted prime minister of being an Israeli agent.
The letter, issued by law firm S.N. Nair & Partners yesterday, gave Hassan three days to clarify his claims that there was “Israeli influence” in Anwar’s appointment as prime minister.
Hassan must provide a written response as well as retract the audio recording in which he made the claims.
Anwar’s letter of demand said that the audio clip had been uploaded online by Twitter users using the handles “Mohd Ropi Mat Sin” and “Pemikir Malaysia”, and the recording has since gone viral.
Anwar is also contending that the accusation had ridiculed the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who consented to his appointment as prime minister, and also the Malay Rulers as the king had discussed the appointment with them.
The letter added that since Hassan had not denied the authenticity of the audio clip, he is considered directly responsible for the claims against Anwar.
As such, if the Baling lawmaker is to deny any responsibility, he must make an unreserved apology in any media of Anwar’s choice, undertake not to repeat the claims with a statutory declaration, in addition to his written explanation and retraction.
“If YB (Hassan) fails to (respond), our orders are to file an injunction and to proceed with legal action against YB,” the letter said.
Legal group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) had today cautioned the prime minister against directing police to investigate those who criticised or made allegations against him, warning that the use of state apparatus for such a purpose was a “slippery slope to authoritarianism”.
LFL said the better recourse was for Anwar to file a civil defamation suit.
PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil two days ago announced that Anwar had instructed police to investigate those who went overboard in issuing slanderous statements and baseless accusations that threaten the country’s harmony.
Subsequently, Royal Malaysia Police secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said in a statement yesterday that Bukit Aman has initiated a probe into PAS’ Hassan over allegedly accusing Anwar of being an Israeli agent.
The case has been classified under Sections 504 and 500 of the Penal Code for criminal intentional insult and defamation, respectively, as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which concerns the improper use of network facilities.
Prior to the statement by police yesterday, Putrajaya PKR Youth had lodged a police report urging the authorities to probe into allegations portraying Anwar, who is party president, as an agent of Israel. – The Vibes, November 30, 2022
