S Manickavasagam (right) with his lawyer Gurmit Singh at the Shah Alam courthouse after filing his defamation lawsuit against The Star.
SHAH ALAM: Former PKR Kapar MP S Manickavasagam is suing Star Media Group Bhd, the publisher of The Star daily, and its reporter for RM150 million for allegedly defaming him.
He accompanied his lawyer Gurmit Singh to file the lawsuit at the Shah Alam High Court at 9.45am today.
The action concerns an article on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) deposits of a group of disabled people published on June 17 last year.
Manickavasagam said the article alleged he cheated several disabled people of their EPF deposits.
“How could I take their EPF deposits? If I did, surely the EPF would investigate, and there would be reports made to the EPF and the police. But, until now, there has been none,” he told reporters after filing his lawsuit.
He said the article also accused him of receiving a RM30,000 bribe to help a contractor win a tender for a public works project worth RM1 million.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) decided the allegation was baseless after investigation and returned his bond, he said.
He was detained by the MACC on June 15, 2016 and released the next day in the alleged case of bribery.
According to a report in Harian Metro, Manickavasagam claimed an unidentified man, who said he wanted to make a political donation, threw an envelope at him.
Shortly after, he said, he was detained and the envelope was found to contain money.
Sumber Former Kapar MP sues The Star for RM150 million