Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waytha Moorthy has filed a lawsuit against Umno Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam for claiming that he played a role in “forging” the post-mortem report of late fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.
The minister said Lokman made the alleged defamatory statements during a rally attended by about 100 participants on Jan 4 where the latter claimed Waytha was among certain Cabinet members who had asked for the report to be amended.
“Lokman’s statements against me were false and uttered with the clear intention to humiliate and instigate public hatred towards me,” he said in the suit sighted by the media today.
Waytha also said the remarks were an attempt to paint him as a dishonest minister and a person who had tried to manipulate the medical report relating to Adib’s death. The remarks portrayed that he failed to carry out his duties as a minister responsible for national unity and social wellbeing, apart from inciting riots at the Sri Mariamman Temple in USJ, Subang.
The minister said Lokman’s remarks were published on his Facebook page which received 55,500 views and was shared 1,658 times as of April 18.
Waytha claimed the defamatory speech was uploaded in two videos via Youtube, KiniTV and Sinar TV with the heading ‘Several ministers tried to amend Adib’s post-mortem report’.
He also claimed the defamatory speech was produced in four articles in several news portals, including Maaysiakini and Minda Rakyat, dated Jan 4 and 5 with the headings ‘Lokman accuses ministers of trying to amend Adib’s post-mortem report’ and ‘Waytha Moorthy among ministers who attempted to request a change in the post-mortem report on Adib’.
“My lawyers issued a letter of demand to Lokman on March 11, demanding that he issue a public apology within a week.
“However, he refused to do so,” Waytha added.
The minister is seeking an unspecified amount in damages as well as an injunction barring Lokman or his agents from further publishing the statements in question.
Lokman, in his defence, said his statements were justified and constituted fair comments.
He also said he had a duty as a member of the opposition to monitor the government and give voice to public concerns.
“I had access to a memo which I believe was issued by a certain party, saying there were orders to amend Adib’s post-mortem report,” he said.
He added that he had lodged a police report to allow the authorities to look into the claim.
High Court judicial commissioner Latifah Mohd Tahar set Nov 1 for next mention.
Waytha has also filed a separate suit against Malay rights group leader Azwanddin Hamzah, accusing him of using a derogatory word and making direct reference to him at a gathering for Adib last December.
The trial for Azwanddin’s suit will start on Oct 23. – FMT