KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim once again filed a letter of demand to Pendang MP Datuk Awang Solahuddin Hashim, seeking an unconditional apology over the libellous statement he made against the prime minister at the Parliament lobby on Feb 21.
Anwar, 75, who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman, filed the notice through Messrs SN. Nair & Partners today and according to his counsel, Datuk SN Nair, they will proceed with legal action against Awang Solahuddin if they do not receive any satisfactory reply from him within three days of receiving the notice.
Awang Solahuddin allegedly made a statement to reporters outside the Dewan Rakyat about the prime minister on Feb 21 that was then published on TikTok under the account “@asriasri64chanel” the following day, garnering over 20,600 views, 322 comments, 159 likes and 47 shares by the time the letter was issued and could still be accessed at this time.
Nair said the libellous remarks were also published in a Malaysiakini article titled “MP PAS: Sikap pendendam Anwar lebih teruk daripada Mahathir” on Feb 21, at 2.29 pm.
“Our client stresses that the libellous remarks on TikTok and in the article are untrue and questions the wisdom, legality and constitutional powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“Our client was officially invited to have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and was appointed and sworn in as Prime Minister of Malaysia in an official ceremony after His Majesty officially concluded that at his discretion, our client would possibly obtain majority support from the MPs,” Nair said.
He added that Awang Solahuddin deliberately questioned the wisdom of the King in appointing Anwar as prime minister on Nov 24, 2022 and his remarks were an insult to the royal institution.
Nair said Awang Solahuddin’s remarks as a whole implied that Anwar was not a legally appointed prime minister, did not command the majority to be appointed and had deceived Malaysians and the King about the actual number of MPs supporting him.
As an MP, he said Awang Solahudding needed to be careful when issuing false and libellous statements, especially when they are seen as going against the decision of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Therefore, Nair said his client is seeking a retraction of the libellous statement or the TikTok video and all insinuating statements immediately along with an unconditional apology, and a written undertaking by Awang Solahuddin to not repeat the remarks.
The letter of demand also stated that Anwar would seek compensation for Awang Solahuddin’s actions.
When contacted by Bernama, Nair confirmed that the notice was sent to Awang Solahuddin via post and email.
On Feb 22, Anwar filed the first letter of demand against Awang Solahuddin over his remarks against the prime minister at the Parliament lobby. - Bernama