KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) and executive vice-chairman Salim Fateh Din have reportedly filed a RM100 million lawsuit against journalist P. Gunasegaram over an article on the LRT3 Shah Alam Line.
According to Malaysiakini, the suit was lodged in the Shah Alam High Court through a statement of claim dated July 29, with both plaintiffs alleging damage to their reputations.
They reportedly argued that the article gave the impression that MRCB won the rail project because of cronyism, political patronage and influential connections, instead of an open procurement process based on merit.
The suit also alleged that the article linked MRCB to the project’s cost increases and delays, and implied that Salim relied on political ties to obtain business benefits for the company.
MRCB and Salim rejected the alleged claims as untrue and baseless, and said Gunasegaram did not approach them for a response before publication.
They said a July 10 letter of demand seeking the article’s removal, an apology and a full retraction was not complied with, alleging that Gunasegaram instead defended the article as “fair comment”.
MRCB and Salim reportedly claimed the article damaged their reputation and credibility, causing a loss in confidence among investors and business partners and negatively affected MRCB’s share price.
Besides RM100 million for alleged reputational loss, they are seeking general, aggravated and/or exemplary damages, as well as injunctions requiring Gunasegaram to remove the disputed material and preventing him from publishing similar content.