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