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IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAYA AT KUALA LUMPUR (CIVIL
DIVISION)
CIVIL SUIT NO._____________________
BETWEEN
DATO SERI ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM
PLAINTIFF
AND
TUN DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
DEFENDANT
STATEMENT OF CLAIM
The Plaintiff is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the
School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Washington D.C in
the United States of America and a Senior Associate Member at St.
Anthonys College at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He is also,
inter alia, Visiting Diplomat at the Council of Foreign Relations, New
York.
The Plaintiff is a politician of national and international reputation,
having held high public office and various portfolios in the Malaysian
Cabinet since the early 1980s, amongst others, Deputy Minister in the
Prime Minister Department in 1982; Youth, Sport and Culture Minister in
1983; Agriculture Minister in 1986, Education Minister, Minister of
Finance in 1991; and Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 until 2.9.1998. In
the middle of 1997 he was acting Prime Minister for 2 months. The
Plaintiff also held various positions of standing in international
organizations including UNESCO and IMF. The Plaintiff has also been UMNO
Deputy President, among other posts held by him in UMNO since he joined
the party and was Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh.
The Defendant was the Prime Minister of Malaysia until his retirement
from office in October 2003.
On 9th September 2005, at a press conference at the premises of
SURUHANJAYA HAK ASASI MANUSIA MALAYSIA (SUHAKAM) in Kuala Lumpur,
attended by numerous journalists and representatives of the press and
media, both local and international, including the electronic media, (
whom the Plaintiff cannot identify save that they included one
Roshan Jason, a journalist from MALAYSIA KINI ( hereinafter referred to
as Malaysiakini), the Defendant, when speaking about the Plaintiff
and his conduct as Deputy Prime Minister, amongst other things,
falsely and maliciously spoke and published to the journalists the
following words
of and concerning the Plaintiff:-
-
I cannot have a sodomiser in my cabinet.
-
Imagine a gay PM..nobody will be safe (hereafter,
referred to as the
offending words)
Translation whereof in Bahasa Malaysia is,
The offending words, were and are defamatory of the Plaintiff. The
offending words, in their natural and ordinary meaning, in the context
in which they were spoken, meant and were understood to, inter alia,
mean that:
the Plaintiff was a homosexual;
the Plaintiff had engaged in carnal intercourse with a male partner or
partners against the order of nature which is an offence under
section 377A and 377D of the Penal Code punishable with imprisonment and
whipping.
that the Plaintiff was engaged in activities contrary to Islam and was
further guilty of an offence of liwat under section 25 of the Syariah
Criminal Offence (Federal Territories) Act, 1997 which is punishable by
imprisonment and whipping.
The Plaintiff will refer to all relevant statutes at all interlocutory
proceedings and at the trial.
that the Plaintiff was a pervert and/or of no morals;
that the Plaintiff was unfit to hold political, or any office;
the Plaintiff was a person of criminal tendencies; and
that the Plaintiff was dangerous to Malaysian society.
The Defendant uttered the offending words with the intention calculated
to disparage the Plaintiff in both his private and official capacities,
including his capacities as former Minister of Finance and former Deputy
Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The Defendant spoke the offending words in the knowledge and/or with
theintention that the offending words or their gist would be published
in the local and international media, both electronic and the
press, including Malaysiakini under the heading Nobody
will be safe from gay PM says Dr. M on 9-9-2005 and Agence France-Presse
(hereinafter referred to as AFP) on 10-9-2005, and republished in
the Singapore Business Times; Straits Times Singapore; The
Associated Press (hereinafter referred to as AP), the Age newspaper in
Melbourne and elsewhere and/or authorized their repetition. Further
and/or alternatively, the
republication was a natural and probable consequence of the original
publication by the Defendant.
The Plaintiff pleads the offending words were also televised widely by
ANN Singapore and several Japanese Media and other television and radio
stations worldwide thereby causing irreparable damage to the Plaintiffs
reputation.
The Plaintiff pleads that AP and AFP are wire service with worldwide and
international clients with extensive and influential distribution
including Malaysia.
By reason of the publication of the offending words by the Defendant and
its subsequent republication as set forth hereinbefore, the Plaintiff
has been gravely injured in his character, credit and reputation both
nationally and internationally and has been brought into public scandal,
odium and contempt and the Plaintiff has suffered considerable distress,
anxiety and embarassment, entitling him to aggravated and exemplary
damages.
The Plaintiff will rely on the following facts and matters as
aggravating the defamation:
PARTICULARS
The extent of the publication of the offending words or their gist
appeared in, inter alia: The Singapore Business Times, Straits Times
Singapore, The Age Newspaper in Melbourne, AP, AFP, ANN and elsewhere,
including on the internet, inter alia: Malaysiakini; Harakah Online and
etc.
The Defendant knew and/or ought to have known and/or intended that the
offending words or their gist would be published in various wire
services, news agencies, newspapers, and republished nationally and
internationally in other newspapers and magazines and media, including
the electronic media, and/or authorised their repetition.
The Defendant has refused to apologise and continues to be defiant.
The Plaintiff will rely upon the following facts and matters in support
of his claim for exemplary damages: -
PARTICULARS
the offending words were self-evidently of the most serious and damaging
nature and recklessly made by the Defendant;
the Defendant spoke and caused the said words to be published and
republished as adverted to hereinbefore despite specific knowledge that
the Plaintiff had vehemently denied the said words and other similar
allegations against him in the past which denial the Defendant had
accepted with a public statement in August, 1997 clearing the Plaintiff
of the allegations. Further, the Defendant had specific knowledge at
that point of time that the allegations against the Plaintiff were
subject matter of criminal investigation and that subsequently the
Defendant himself exculpated the Plaintiff publicly;
the Defendant had publicly spoken the offending words with the express
knowledge that the Plaintiff was acquitted and discharged by the Federal
Court on 2nd September 2004 on charges of sodomy and also after the
Kuala Lumpur High Court on 18 August 2005 found in favour of the
Plaintiff in a defamation suit brought against the author and publisher
of the book 50 Dalil mengapa Anwar tidak boleh jadi PM by the Plaintiff.
the Defendant spoke and caused to be published and republished the
offending words with the express intention of damaging the Plaintiffs
reputation and standing politically, in order to safeguard the
Defendants own past political interest and past position as Prime
Minister of Malaysia, without first making effective and proper inquery
into the truth and veracity of the offending words; and
the Defendant spoke and published the offending words having calculated
that he stood to gain more by the publication and republication of the
offending words than he would lose if successfully sued by the Plaintiff
for defamation.
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