KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has decided to sue Lalitha Kunaratnam for RM10 million in damages despite declaring the commission’s unwavering commitment to protecting whistle-blowers under the law.
According to a press statement made by Azam’s lawyer Megat Abdul Munir today, the firm filed a claim for defamation at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today over articles written by Lalitha published on the Independent News Service on October 26 and December 15 last year.
In the statement of claim filed today, Azam seeks, among other things, an injunction against Lalitha, her agents, and her family from making any defamatory statements against him.
Furthermore, Azam demands that within three days from the date of a judgment favourable to him Lalitha retracts and deletes any statements injurious to his reputation, in addition to making a public apology.
Meanwhile, he seeks RM10 million for damages.
As plaintiff, Azam referred to two articles written by Lalitha titled “Business Ties Among MACC Leadership: How Deep Does It Go? (Part 1)” and “Business Ties Among MACC Leadership: How Deep Does It Go? (Part 2)”.
The headlines of the articles themselves, Azam said, are “sensational, scandalous, annoying and vilifying”.
“This is because, (when the articles) were drafted, published and republished it was done with malice and bad faith so that readers would conclude that the plaintiff (Azam) is a corrupt civil servant who abuses his position for his and his sibling’s self-interest,” the statement of claim read.
Besides the news articles, Azam also pointed to Lalitha’s tweets, which include the display of a diagram suggesting the MACC chief’s ties to various businesses.
Azam similarly labelled these tweets as “sensational, scandalous, annoying and vilifying”.
“What’s worse is that following the publication of the tweets, it has received an overwhelming response from readers and it has obtained over 44 comments and more than a thousand retweets,” the statement of claim said.
In relation to a press statement issued by Lalitha’s lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon on January 9 this year, Azam said her action is an attempt for him to undergo “trial by media”.
Azam contended that despite the seriousness and weight of the alleged defamatory statements, Lalitha published and republished those claims without directly verifying her assertions with the plaintiff.
Also, Lalitha’s reference to the blog Edisi Siasat for her articles became a point of argument for Azam, who said that it is not an official news source.
“Readers believe in totality the defamatory statements which were mentioned.
“The plaintiff will reply using various documents during trial,” the statement of claim added. – The Vibes, January 12, 2022
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