Defamation suit over stadium issue: Here’s how Razak I-do-not-know-Murray-Hunter Ismail can undo the damage he has done

 

 “Nobody can silence you with a letter of demand. Unless what you have written or said was utter rubbish in the first place. “ - Defamation suit over stadium project: Parti Hijau’s Razak Ismail has no reason to whine unless …

KL, 29 Oct: That was what I wrote on my blog July 30 last year after Razak Ismail, the sacked PKR man, wouldn’t stop playing victim after he was sued for defamation. Well, last week (Oct 22) Razak apologized in court for defaming MRCB, the company appointed by the Selangor government to redevelop the Shah Alam stadium project. 

He admitted at the Shah Alam High Court, in front of Judge Khadijah Idris, that he had made numerous false and misleading statements about the company and the Shah Alam stadium project.

“I would like to express my deep regret in respect of the press releases issued by me on March 21, 2023 and April 3, 2023, as well as the publications made by myself on my Facebook account bearing the name Abdul Razak Ismail which have offended you. 

“I would like to offer my deepest and most sincere regret in my personal capacity as the publication had offended you.” 

I don’t wish to tell Razak “I told you so” but I did tell him so in that posting: the social media is not a place where you can slander, defame and get away without having to account for whatever you Facebook, tweet or tiktok. 

My posting in full:

 

Sunday, July 30, 2023

Defamation suit over Stadium project: Party Hijau’s Razak Ismail has no cause to whine, unless …

Amirudin is trying to silence (me) with the lawsuits - Razak Ismail, Green Party sec-gen 

Damansara, 30 July: I don’t quite understand why Razak Ismail, the sacked PKR leader who is now Green Party secretary general, is whining about being sued by MRCB for the things he had accused the conglomerate of. If his claims can be backed by facts, he should see it as a great opportunity to promote his integrity. The court is where Razak will prove to all and sundry that he speaks the truth and nothing but the truth, that he didn’t make up any of it. Berani kerana benar. 

So now, the whining, could  it be that Razak knows he won’t be able to back up his allegations and will lose to MRCB in court?

If that is so, you asked for it! Kerana mulut badan binasa. But even if that is the case, Razak, it is an opportunity: you can instruct your lawyers to approach MRCB, the party that is suing you to protect its own integrity, and negotiate some kind of agreement that is acceptable to both sides. Usually, that would be you making a public apology to MRCB for defaming them and you giving an undertaking not to repeat your defamatory remarks.. (You may have to pay some legal costs but usually the amount won’t be as crippling as the damages you would have to pay when you lose the case().

Either way, here’s what we all need to constantly remember: we are accountable for what we say, whether it is in the real world or in cyberspace. The law is blind in this country where even former prime ministers know they can be hauled up to court for alleged indiscretions. Even the sitting PM Anwar Ibrahim is going to court to answer allegations he made against Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Heck, the mighty Royalty of this country too are no longer spared; the only difference is, perhaps,  their court is called  “special”. In short, nobody is above the law.

The social media, my friends, is not a place where you can slander, defame and get away without having to account for whatever you Facebook, tweet or tiktok. I speak from experience. I was sued by a conglomerate in 2006, a case that lasted 5 years against  plaintiffs who were powerful individuals close to the government of the day. Did I whine?

And remember this, too: Nobody can silence you with a letter of demand. Unless what you have written or said was utter rubbish in the first place.  - ENDS

Last Thursday (Oct 24), two days after his apology, Razak was asked by the news portal Scoop if he would also apologize to the Selangor palace. After all, it was his “false and misleading statements” that drove Aussie blogger Murray Hunter into a frenzy, accusing not just MRCB and the Selangor governmennt but also the Sultan of Selangor with corruption and abuse of power.

Mr Hunter, who lives some 500km away in Hatyai, Thailand, has very little good things to say about Malaysia, especially the Malays. We all know the decision by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to block the Aussie’s blog has been the main reason for the increase in his blog’s popularity but that hasn’t stopped him, like Razak Ismail, from playing victim. 

In the interview with the Scoop, Razak claimed: “I do now know him (Murray Hunter).”

KUALA LUMPUR – The Green Party’s secretary-general, Abdul Razak Ismail, has indicated that he should not be held responsible for comments made by others that attack parties not connected to his original statements.

Speaking to Scoop, Razak, who retracted his statements regarding the Shah Alam Sports Complex on October 22 in an effort to settle a defamation suit brought by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), sought to distance himself from Australian blogger Murray Hunter, who utilised the former’s posts to involve the Selangor Palace in the matter.

Razak said he does not know Hunter, who is currently being sought by local police with Interpol’s assistance, noting that his comments on social media can be accessed publicly and that anyone can use his statements for their own narratives and purpose.

“There are people who picked up my social media postings and shared them on Whatsapp groups.

“Anyone can pick up my uploads because there’s a free flow of information (on the internet),” Abdul Razak said when contacted.

Razak who had read out a retraction and expressed regret in open court on Tuesday, was asked if he should also express the same to the Palace which was unfairly drawn into the issue because of his statements.

Razak explained that his statements related to the Shah Alam sports complex targeted the Selangor state government and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shaari, and barely referred to MRCB.

“I want to say to clear any misunderstandings, I don’t know him (Hunter).

“Perhaps he was interested in the sports complex issue and he used my statements,” Razak said.

On June 1 last year, MRCB filed a lawsuit against Razak in the Shah Alam High Court, alleging that his statements made between March and June 2023 were defamatory.

While Razak initially maintained that his comments were aimed at the state government, MRCB argued he had specifically named the company.

It is believed that these statements by Razak formed the basis of an article by Hunter published in January this year which dragged the Selangor Royal House into the issue.

On October 22, Razak and MRCB reached a settlement, which required him to read a letter of regret in court. In this letter, he retracted press releases from March and April 2023, as well as statements made on his Facebook account. – October 24, 2024

Well, I disagree with Razak’s assertion that he cannot be blamed if others use his defamatory statements. As as much as there’s “free flow of information on the Internet” (the excuse Razak gave to the Scoop for absolving himself from further blame), there are steps he can take to ensure only the correct information reaches his audience from now.

For starters, Razak may post a statement on his social media to advise others, especially the likes of Murray Hunter, against quoting or linking to his “false and misleading statements”. 

Pin that advisory at the top of his social media so that it will stick out like a sore thumb in a way that every reader or follower of his will not miss it whenever they log into his social media.

Razak may also delete all “false and misleading” statements on the stadium issue from his social media. 

He should also write in to Google and inform them of the outcome of his case where he had lost and apologised in court. Ask Google to delete those “false and misleading statements” or, at the very least, flag them as “defamatory”.

Since he doesn’t feel like he owes the Palace and the Sultan of Selangor an apology, the onus is on Razak to ensure that nobody does a Murray Hunter in future and uses those false and misleading statements to attack the royal institution (ours, not that Thai royal institution; Mr Hunter wouldn’t dare write anything let alone anything bad about King Rama).

Excepts from my Jan 30, 2024 posting:

I think you’d agree that Hunter crossed the line whenm he suggested that the “strange circumstances” had something to do with “pressure from the palace”.

Hunter even invoked a section in the Selangor Constitution that spells out the scope of power - or, rather the limitations - of the Sultan and proceeded to conclude that, “Thus, the issuance of the demolition order may in fact be unconstitutional. The state legal advisor must give an opinion on this matter.’

This wasn’t the first time Hunter has attacked the much-anticipated Shah Alam stadium project. It makes one wonder about this foreigner’s fixation. Why, isn’t there anything worth criticising or unearthing in Hatyai and Thailand? 

And I keep thinking also: who’s putting Hunter up to it? It cannot be coincidence that a day after the article appeared, sacked PKR politician Abdul Razak Ismail reared his head once again to challenge the Shah Alam project. 

I’m not convinced that Razak did not know Murray Hunter. I mean, I won’t take his word for it. 

As for Murray Hunter, I hear that he has been served a letter of demand for the numerous claims he has been making about the stadium project and its developer. I’m no lawyer but after Razak’s admission of guilt over the stadium issue, the prospects don’t look that good for the Aussie, I must say.

I don’t know how it is in Hunter’s native Australia or in his adopted country, Thailand, but in Malaysia you are accountable for what you say, in real life or in cyberspace. - Ends

Budget 2025: Looking beyond the material world

BUDGET 2025: Looking beyond the material world 

(suggested pic of “Kopi”?) ps This is the draft for my column in The Scoop. 

17 Oct: At the Budget 2025 briefing for local editors in Putrajaya onTuesday, the Prime Minister was punctual as usual, shook hands with everyone, jovial.

And why not? Since re-taking the Finance Ministry portfolio two years ago (he was sacked as DPM and Finance Minister in 1998), the ringgit has been the region’s best performer, foreign investors have returned in droves, inflation and unemployment have been kept low. His war on corruption under the Madani banner is making many piss in their pants and bringing back confidence in his government’s serious about reforms. The forseeable future seems to be looking up.

Came my turn to shake hands, he quipped: “You’ve done this many times, sudah hafal (you’ve memorised this).” 

He meant that I’ve covered the annual budget as a reporter since he was DPM and Minister of Finance back in the 1990s. But so has he. Tomorrow Anwar Ibrahim, 77, will be tabling his xxx-th budget. Me, I’ve had the privilege of being part of this annual, customary pre-Budget press briefing my the MoF since the mid 1980s. 

Every Anwar Ibrabim budget in the 1990s, any business reporter in those days would remember, would come attached with a glossary to help us with the BM jargons he so loved to use. Rhetorics and semantics were aplenty, too. And mega projects. 

Yesterday, however, one came away feeling that the Budget to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow will be glossed with not just handouts for the masses but, more importantly, policies and prograns that will help increase their incomes and lessen their burdens.

One for the marhaen, dare I say? A Budget with a conscience?

I am not at liberty to disclose what the PM shared at yesterday’s briefing (everything is embargoed till tomorrow). But if you think you are one of the common people, or you need some kind of help, or you’re part of the 10 per cent of the population above 60, there should be something to smile about.

There will be a shake-up of the government-linked corporationsw (GLCs), a consolidation of overlapping authorities and agencies to reduce wastages and increase efficiency, and perhaps drastic changes in the way subsidies are awarded.

With regards to the GST, for example, the PM has made it clear even before yesterday’s briefing that the time has not come. It’s an effective and transparent tax regime, he admitted, but “my conscience says no, not now”. My colleage Zainul Ariffin, who is propagating the return to GST in his column The State of the nation: The case for GST again will be disappointed but there’s that conscience again: the PM feels the family income threshold for Malaysians must be doubled from today’s RM1500 before he brings back GST. 

That same conscience, a Treasury official said, is nudging the PM away from mega projects such as the High Speed Rail, which many thought (and some hoped) would be announced in the Budget.

“The PM wants more schools, more hospitals, more universities to be built. The money that would be spent on mega projects is better spent on these,” an aide said.

If that’s where the 2025 Budget is going, I believe it will go down pretty well with the long-suffering Rakyat and perhaps set this nation back on track.

Sometimes it’s the little things that we need. Taxes (and tax redemptions), incentives, subsidies, higher pay and better perks - everybody wants them. But quality of life is not defined by material terms only. 

I do have a short wish list - all non-monetary - that I shared on Instragram half an hour or so before the PM met us yesterday: be kind to the animals, be generous to the common people, and give plenty back to Mother Nature.

“If I were the Prime Minister, I’d shoot those who ordered strayed dogs shot, provide free education and health services to lower-income groups, and launch a campaign to grow a million trees.” - posted on Instagram by rockybru, 15/10/24

“Also, don’t forget cycling infrastructure please.”

“If you threw in another 3 million trees, I’d h help fund your political campaigns.”

“How about retroactive citizenship amendment + cancel the 3 regressive amendments. That covers 50% of the vote - WOMEN.”

“Yes, cruelty to animals a big NO.”

“And make it an offence to those who do not pay back their study loans.”

“Imagine if they shot John Wick’s dog.”

“Justice for Kopi.”

For the uninitiated, “Kopi” is the name of a “popular and friendly stray dog” in Hulu Terengganu shot dead recently by the local municipal officers. Read Who allowed this cruelty? A discrict council president said his officers had license to kill wild and dangerous animals. Shooting of Kopi followed SOP, says Besut Council

This was not the first time the authorities shoot dead stray dogs to resolve the problems of stray dogs. Perhaps the PM should set aside a small allocation in the Budget 2025 to train and motivate municipalities to build shelters for the homeless dogs and to have them neutered, vaccinated and spayed. And encourage people, including the Malay-Muslims, to adopt them. 

“Juan” vs YB Wan Fayhsal: Who is this powerful “EPF employee” who sent an elected MP to pasture over BlackRock?

NEW YORK – October 1, 2024 – BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) and Global Infrastructure Partners (“GIP”) announce the successful completion of BlackRock’s acquisition of GIP. The combination creates an industry leader in infrastructure across equity, debt and solutions – providing a diverse range of infrastructure sector expertise and exposure across developed and emerging markets. The combined infrastructure platform will be branded Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock.

Oct 2: A bunch of journalists were talking the other night* about suspended Member of Parliament Wan Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal and concluded that generally Malaysian voters had no clue that one of their MPs had been sent out to pasture last July not for undermining the nusa dan bangsa but, rather, for citing an anonymous letter naming an EPF “employee” while debating the Black Rock controversy. 

These journalists admitted that the Malaysian media had not done their job, either. The natural thing for journalists to have done was find out as much as they can who this “employee”, get his views, talk to his employer, colleagues, and friends (foes, too, if any). 

It is not our job to take sides; we just report the truth. But if we don’t report comprehensively, how do we present the whole truth? 

For causing the sensational ejection of an MP from the Dewan Rakyat, albeit for six months only, surely this “EPF employee” deserves an investigation of sorts. We owe the voters - and our dear Readers - that much, at least.

Also, E.P.F. was implicated. And that’s us - you and I. The EPF or its Malay acronym KWSP has 16 million members in total, half of them “active” contributors. That’s half the nation’s workforce, ladies and gentlemen.

So, for whatever it’s worth (this is me, journalist and blogger, belatedly trying to do my job as journalist and blogger), here goes:

The “EPF employee” named by Wan Fayhsal is: is Mohamad Shahazwan Mohd Harris. Nicknamed Juan. I don’t know if he calls himself Juan (like I call myself Rocky) or if that’s a nick people assign to him but we can rest assured that this Juan has no relations to Don Juan, the legendary but fictional Spanish libertine (a person who freely indulges in sensual pleasures without regard to moral principles) who devoted his life to seducing women.

How does our Juan look like?

Now, one of the journalists did ask if he was related to the Palace or the PM or Azalina, the minister who tabled the motion to suspend Wan Faysal for naming him as the EPF employee behind BlackRock. It’s a fair question, actually. In the Malaysian context, it’s usually who you know or are related to.

But before we go further, a quick refresher’s first: Why was Wan Fayhsal talking about BlackRock and citing an anonymous letter in Parliament? 

Well, the matter had become a thorn in Madani’s scheme of things after a deal by Khazanah and EPF to privatise MAHB, the company that owns and operates all airports in Malaysia except Senai in the Kingdom of Johor and manages several good and profitable ones abroad) went sideways. Reason it went sideways: GIP, one of the partners selected by Khazanah-EPF was being bought over by BlackRock, the world’s largest investment that, according to the UN, has been “profiting from Israel’s crimes in Gaza”.

Of course, PM Anwar Ibrahim as Khazanah chairman and the Minister of Finance had to defend the deal. I have also written on this blog (HERE) to defend the deal. But Wan Fayhsal seems to believe that contrary to PMX and my explanations, those Malaysians who brokered the deal may have known (but failed to inform the PM) that BlackRock was going to be in the picture eventually.

One of the people named in the poison-pen letter was EPF’s Shahazwan, a former Khazanah top exec. 

Like I said, my job is not to take anyone’s side. But more and more, I feel that the decision to suspend Wan Fayhsal for ID-ing Juan was a wrong one. 

The MPs who voted to suspend him argued that i) by referencing a poison-pen letter, Wan Fayhsal had “tainted the sanctity of the Lower House by citing inaccurate information to score political points” and  ii) the individual (Juan) identified by Wan Fayhsal in the Dewan Rakyat was not able to defend himself due to the immunity granted to MPs. 

I shall not debate the first point but I strongly disagree that the individual identified by Wan Fayhsal was unable to defend himself. Any PR person could have told you that it was a golden opportunity for Khazanah and EPF to clear its name (and Shahazwan’s) and defend the deal.

As a result of not having seized that opportunity, the allegations made in that poison-pen letter remain unanswered till today. And Shahazwan aka Juan remains, in some people’s heads,  a suspect. 

There are those who say we should not give poison-pen letters the time of day. In other words, jangan layan. Generally, I agree with that advice but in this case, it would have been better to get to the bottom of the letter.

Well, we all remember the so-called poison-pen letter written by High Court judge Syed Ahmad Idid Syed Abdullah in 1996 accusing the Chief Justice of holidaying and merrymaking with a top lawyer in New Zealand. A massive conflict of interest and corrupt practice of the highest level. There was no way the authorities then could defend the Chief Justice against the allegations so what they did was forced Idid to resign and vilify him to no end. 

Years later, the nation discovered that he had written the truth. 

It is not too late to deal with Juan’s poison-pen letter. It is, in fact, timely given that the BlackRock takeover of GIP is now, as if 1 Oct 2024, complete. 

Read BlackRock Completes Acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners

*the National Press Club’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, held at MITEC, where 17 legendary, not fictional veteran journalists, led by PC Shivadas and Hardev Kaur, were honoured for their lifelong service to the truth.