KUALA LUMPUR: Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has initiated legal action against three individuals, namely blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris (also known as ‘Papagomo’), independent speaker Ahmad Dusuki Abd Rani, and the Facebook account owner ‘N13 Kuang’, Mohd Fauzan Madzlan. The minister claims that they have falsely accused him of delivering a political talk in a mosque in Rawang, Selangor.
The lawsuits were filed by Fahmi’s lawyer, Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi, at the High Court on September 5 through the law firm Messrs. Asheeq Ali & Company, as mentioned by Bernie.
In his statement of claim, Fahmi alleges that the three defendants spread defamatory remarks by accusing him of utilizing a mosque as a platform to campaign for an election, in violation of the orders of the Sultan of Selangor. These slanderous comments were made on various social media platforms, including TikTok and Facebook, between July 31 and August 1, according to Fahmi.
Fahmi clarifies that the allegations made against him are baseless, citing the confirmation from the Selangor Islamic Religious Council that he had not delivered any political speech in the mosque.
He further asserts that the defamatory statements were made with the intention of tarnishing his reputation as a member of parliament and a Cabinet Minister, with the aim of gaining cheap publicity or stirring controversy in the national political sphere.
Letters of demand were issued to the three defendants, requiring them to retract the defamatory statements, compensate for damages incurred, and issue a public apology. However, they have failed to comply with these demands, and their social media pages still contain the defamatory remarks, according to Fahmi.
Consequently, Fahmi is seeking general damages, as well as aggravated or exemplary damages, and an injunction to prevent the defendants from making or sharing any further defamatory statements. Moreover, Fahmi is demanding the defendants to remove the defamatory content from their social media accounts and issue a public apology through all mass media and online platforms, with the apology’s content to be agreed upon by Fahmi.
The cases against Ahmad Dusuki and Mohd Fauzan will undergo case management on October 5, presided over by Senior Assistant Registrar Nur Shasha Hidayah Nor Azahar. On the other hand, the case against Wan Muhammad Azri is scheduled for October 9, to be heard by Deputy Registrar Aisyaf Falina Abdullah. This information was relayed by Bernama.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
