KUALA LUMPUR – Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka) president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil has been slapped with a lawyer’s letter from the Pahang government seeking an apology and RM1 million in damages after she spoke on deforestation and logging in the state.
In a Facebook post this morning, Shariffa Sabrina shared that the notice was issued by law firm Messrs Hidayah Ishak & Partners, representing the state government.
The environmental activist was asked to issue an unconditional apology to the state government through all sharing platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram.
Should she fail to comply with the notice within 14 days of receiving the letter, the Pahang government will file a claim with the court without referring to her and will see other damages as well.
Speaking to The Vibes, Shariffa Sabrina said that she was shocked at the outrageous demand made of her by the Pahang government.
Although it is not the first time that she has encountered such threats, she expressed disappointment at the state government, saying it is unacceptable in a modern-day democracy.
“How can they demand an apology from me merely for raising issues of concern? It is uncalled for.
“The environment and indiscriminate logging are issues that plague our country and the state government should in fact be working together with me and other stakeholders or activists to defend our jungles and natural resources.
“This will not be (the) last as threats, intimidation, blackmail, and abuse of power will continuously be used to try and stop me from exposing the government’s wrongdoings when it comes to crime against our priceless nature,” she said when contacted.
She lambasted the state government’s action for further showing its opposition of freedom of speech.
Shariffa Sabrina said the state administration was “incompetent to address the allegations thrown at them without improving their shortcomings in protecting nature from extreme threats of weather, from global warming to climate change”.
She reminded the authorities that such tactics to create fear of legal action could tarnish the reputation of the country locally and abroad.
Shariffa Sabrina urged environmental activists to not fear the authorities in their fight for nature.
The legal letter claims that the NGO leader had made defamatory statements in two Facebook posts on December 29 and 30 respectively, and during a live interview with Sinar Harian on January 12.
It said her statements in those posts and the interview inferred that the Pahang government is irresponsible for allowing logging activities at the Karak mountain region without making an Environmental Impact Assessment.
“It also implied that the state government had conspired with the Pahang Forestry Department to issue a fraudulent statement that there are no logging activities at the Lentang forest reserve.
“Her statements also implied that the state government is carrying out logging activities at the Lentang forest reserve without remorse, which resulted in a catastrophe.
“It also insinuated that the state government is involved and is the cause of illegal logging and exploration activities in forests under its purview, and that the Pahang government is practising bribery by allowing logging companies to carry out widespread logging activities in forests in Pahang,” it said.
The notice alleged that Shariffa Sabrina’s statements had put the state government in bad light and subjected it to accusations from the public that “it is a government which is irresponsible, deceitful, and lacks integrity”. – The Vibes, February 10, 2022
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