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KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) today lodged a police report against a news portal for allegedly published a defamatory article about Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan said there was a paragraph in the article titled ‘Saman Agong Satu Tragedi Negara’ published on Nov 7 which caused certain perception and confusion on the part of the public on Muhyiddin’s leadership as Prime Minister and Bersatu president.
“The paragraph implied that Muhyiddin as Bersatu president had instructed a lawyer to sue Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
“We think that it is defamation and should not have been done...we want the news portal to be investigated according to the relevant laws,” he told reporters after lodging the report at the Dang Wangi Police station here today.
He said they also demanded the portal to immediately apologise for publishing the article.
As mush as Bersatu is supporting the freedom of the press, he said it must be practised in accordance with the journalism code of ethics.
Meanwhile, Dang Wangi Police chief ACP Mohd Fahmi Visuvanathan Abdullah, when contacted, confirmed receiving the report.
Similar reports were also lodged by the party representatives in Tanah Merah, Kelantan, and in Balik Pulau, Penang.
On Oct 30, a lawyer Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar reportedly filed an originating summons seeking an interpretation of the provisions of the Federal Constitution pertaining to the discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in rejecting the declaration of an emergency as advised by the prime minister to address the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
The summons was filed by Syed Iskandar at the Kuala Lumpur High Court Registrar’s Office through Messrs R Kengadharan & Co with the Government of Malaysia named as the defendant. — Bernama
