DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok’s recent seeking of RM25 mil in damages from rightist UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh must have rubbed off on Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli who had yesterday (Sept 14) initiated two counter-actions against the opposition forces for their defamatory/slanderous remarks.
This comes about after he has instructed his legal team to initiate a lawsuit against Bersatu Youth Chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal for publicly defaming him that he “keeps macai” (pay cybertroopers) and embezzled money from his ministry to pay those cybertroopers.
Saya telah mohon pasukan peguam saya untuk memulakan proses saman terhadap @wanfayhsal kerana membuat fitnah terbuka bahawa saya:
1) Saya membela macai (iaitu saya membayar cybertrooper)
2) Saya menyeleweng duit Kementerian membayar cybertrooper
Saya tidak pernah saman… https://t.co/VQkqmgsswP
— Rafizi Ramli (@rafiziramli) September 14, 2024
“I have never sued anyone but the Machang MP’s defamation is a very clear case when brought to court,” penned the PKR deputy president on the X platform.
Almost identical to how his UMNO counterpart played down six-term Seputeh MP Kok’s RM25 mil suit for his emotional outburst with his trademark “no fear, no surrender” response, Wan Fayhsal is echoing asomehow similar chorus of “BRING IT ON” as a reaction to Rafizi’s legal suit.
“Where is the slander, Rafizi? Why are you floundering?” the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Youth deputy chief rebutted the Pandan MP.
“BRING IT ON. Can’t wait to subpoena all the macai (henchmen), reveal EVERYTHING in court and let the evidence speak for themselves! The people and taxpayers must know the TRUTH about these political appointments!”
But Rafizi snubbed Wan Fayhsal – to the joy of many pro-Madani government supporters who wants the former to sue the latter until his pants drop – that he (Wan Fayhsal) has “never fought a civil case in court, hence not careful when slandering people”.
“Ha3 good luck “subpoena” macai (literally, henchmen) in civil cases 😂Before anything else, you’ve switched the subject to political appointment,” teased Rafizi.
“Your original accusation was of misappropriating the ministry’s money to pay for the “upkeep of macai” 😜I won’t comment further as this has become a lawsuit in court!”
Aside from Wan Fayshal, Rafizi has also trained his guns on PAS’ social media influencer Encik Richard (@RichardPower_) by instructing his press secretary Mohamed Farhan Akmal Mohd Iqbal to lodge a report against the latter for making false accusations against him.
Best jadi influencer ekonomi bawah Rafizi Ramli.
Bayaran kepada influencer sahaja RM60,000.
Kalau tengok kat bawah tu dia tulis ada 20 akaun aset di Twitter.
Najib Bakar tak termasuk sebab dah dapat gred S54. ☺️☺️
Persoalannya berapa Nazri Hamdan dapat? 🤭 https://t.co/QjHHoD3iHl pic.twitter.com/2OWWrzm7oE
— 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐤 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 🇲🇾✨✨ (@RichardPower_) September 13, 2024
“The Economy Ministry has never paid anyone as an influencer, not to mention @nazribiztalk of whom I would suggest Nazri to also file a police report,” the PKR lawmaker asserted on a separate posted.
“My office and I have never seen the proposal that he (Encik Richard) disseminated. This Richard guy is reported to be close to the PAS leadership and hiding behind a fake social media account. It is high time that legal action is taken to prevent such slanders.”
To a challenge by Encik Richard to reveal his true identity, Rafizi said he suspected the fake account to have belonged to former PAS candidate for the Ampang parliamentary constituency Nurul Islam (Mohamed Yusoff).
“I said close to the PAS leadership because Nurul Islam gets appointed to positions with lucrative salaries while other PAS leaders don’t even enjoy privileges like him … But we can’t confirm that because he uses a fake account,” justified Rafizi.
“That’s why I use the word ‘reported’ so that the authorities can probe further. I hope that when hauled up for investigation, Nurul Islam comes out bravely to deny that he’s Encik Richard.” – Sept 15, 2024
