THE Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) and its executive vice-chairperson Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din to withdraw a RM100 million defamation suit against veteran journalist P. Gunasegaram.
The suit, filed at the Shah Alam High Court on July 29, concerns an opinion piece by Gunasegaram on the LRT3 project.
The article, titled “LRT3 Shah Alam line welcome but questions on costs, delays remain”, was published by KINIBIZ and later shared by Gunasegaram on his Facebook page on July 3.
According to the statement of claim reviewed by CPJ, MRCB said the article suggested the company had secured the LRT3 project through cronyism, political patronage and political connections.
It also alleged that the article linked those factors to cost overruns and delays in the project.
Gunasegaram, who co-founded KINIBIZ in 2013 and has written for Malaysiakini, has stood by the article, describing it as fair comment on a matter of public interest.
He told CPJ the piece was based on information available in public records and said the public deserved a full explanation over the project’s costs and delays.
CPJ Asia-Pacific programme coordinator Kunal Majumder said the lawsuit was an attack on press freedom.
“The massive civil defamation lawsuit against veteran journalist P. Gunasegaram is unreasonable and an attack on press freedom,” he said.
Majumder said companies involved in public projects should accept scrutiny and use the Malaysia Media Council’s dispute resolution mechanism if they have complaints over media reports.
MRCB and Salim are seeking damages for alleged reputational harm, as well as orders requiring Gunasegaram to remove the material and preventing him from publishing similar content, according to the statement of claim and media reports.
Gunasegaram has refused to comply with a July 10 letter from MRCB demanding that he remove the article from Facebook and issue an apology.
MRCB did not respond to CPJ’s request for comment on the lawsuit.
CPJ said it had previously documented defamation cases involving journalists in Malaysia, and warned that such lawsuits can place pressure on journalists through legal costs and repeated court appearances.
It described such cases as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, which are intended to intimidate or silence those speaking on matters of public interest. – August 17, 2026
