PERIKATAN Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is being sued for defamation after claiming that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim received RM15 mil from the Selangor state government while acting as its economic adviser.
The writ of summons was filed by Messrs SN Nair & Partners at the High Court registry on Tuesday (Dec 20).
In the statement of claim, Anwar said the former prime minister made those claims during an election speech at Taman Selasih in Kulim on Dec 5, in support of PN candidate Datuk Azman Nasrudin.
Excerpts of the speech were then republished on the TikTok platform via an account under the name “@beritakini8”.
The video garnered more than 1.1 million views, 6,061 comments, more than 21,400 likes, more than 1,360 favourites and 2,169 shares as of Dec 7.
Anwar said the defendant then republished his entire speech on his Facebook account under the name “Muhyiddin Yassin”, which remains accessible.
The plaintiff said the slanderous words were meant to say that he was unreliable and untruthful about accepting millions from the Selangor state government as the economic adviser, that he was unethical, unprincipled, a corrupt, a hypocrite and not a good Muslim.
Anwar is seeking general, compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages.
He had also asked for a court order to prevent the Bersatu president from saying, writing, publishing, or disseminating allegedly libellous words or words with a similar or identical effect in the future.
On social media, netizens were quick to voice their support for the Prime Minister, with user @soldaduMY telling Muhyiddin that he had made a big mistake slandering Anwar.
Silap besarlah.. Dia bukan pemimpin spt dulu yg boleh diperkotak-katik dan diaibkan dgn tohmahan dan fitnah.. Sbb fitnahlah yg membawa kehinaan hidup dan karier beliau.. Anwar mungkin tahu siapa yg memfitnah beliau dahulu, sehingga dipecat dr jawatan TPM.. Sabar itu ada batasnya
— 改革者たち 🇵🇸🇲🇾 (@soldaduMY) December 20, 2022
(“Big Mistake. He (Anwar) is not a leader like before who can be played for a fool and humiliated with accusations and slander because it is slander that brought disgrace to his life and career.
(“Anwar must have known who slandered him before to the point where he was sacked as the deputy prime minister. Patience has its limits”)
However, several netizens had voiced their concern that Anwar was going around suing his opponents instead of focusing on other more important matters.
User @MahadiSidik, for example, said:
Woi, buat keje oii, PM pn duk main saman menyaman ke
— mahadi sidik (@MahadiSidik) December 20, 2022
Meanwhile, another user believes that the former prime minister is facing God’s retribution:
Padan muka ko midin,allah maha mendgar dan berkuasa midin kena ingat tuh. Bila allah angkat darjat seseorang itu dgn mkna tiada siapa yg dapat menjatuhkan kecuali allah s.w.t.
— mohd azfisha (@mohdazfisha) December 20, 2022
(“Serves you right [Muhyiddin], God hears all and is omnipotent and you have to remember that. When God elevates one’s rank, it means that no one can bring him down except Him”) – Dec 20, 2022
Main pic credit: Bernama
