PETALING JAYA: Former finance minster Lim Guan Eng (pix) is filing defamation suits against an Umno Youth leader and others for spreading fake news about his son being detained in Singapore.
“A national Umno Youth leader using the name, “Papa Azri”, had started off this malicious lie by stating that I flew to Singapore on Feb 29 after my son was hauled up at Singapore Airport for bringing in RM2 million cash without proper declaration,“ Lim, who is DAP secretary-general and Bagan MP, said in a press statement today.
Lim pointed out that the news went viral through the BN and Umno support groups.
“The most distressing part is, the mainstream media, especially the Chinese media, ran the story without seeking verification on the allegations made,“ he added.
“This is not professional journalism, this is a form of bullying against a soft target, a classic exercise of ‘bullying the weak and fear the evil’,“ he said.
Earlier, according to The Star, the Chinese-language newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau had reported that the child of a “senior Pakatan Harapan leader” was allegedly apprehended after his attempt to bring in RM2 million into Singapore without proper verification.
The controversial blog site Malaysia Today then quoted the article published by Nanyang and mentioned that the young man involved was Lim’s son.
“As a Pakatan Harapan (PH) political leader, I expect to face such lies, falsehoods and threats from my opponents,“ he said.
Lim then questioned the morality and behaviour of some of the Umno leaders and their supporters for putting his family who are not in the political arena to shame.
“Will Umno act against their leaders and supporters for such unethical, immoral and illegal conduct? Will the new unelected government also act against such unethical, immoral and illegal behaviour?” he asked.
Previously, Lim said that false allegations were also made against his other son, of sexually assaulting his female classmate and even showed a photograph of the female victim, which was that of a chess champion from Hong Kong who had never met his son before.
On March 14, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador had denied the allegation that Lim’s son had been detained in Singapore.
He said the case is under investigation to find out the perpetrators behind such fake news.
