Opposition leader says this is the state of the rule of law in the country.
“This is the state of the rule of law in our country,” he said when cross-examined by lawyer Hasnal Rezua Merican, who is appearing for Mazlan in the defamation suit brought by Anwar.
The suit came about when Mazlan, whom Anwar defeated for the Permatang Pauh seat in the 2013 general election, claimed to have received more than 6,000 anonymous letters alleging that Anwar had paid Karpal more than RM50 million since 2008 as legal fees and bribes to judges and prosecutors.
Anwar said Mazlan had held a press conference on Aug 2, 2013, and uttered the defamatory remarks which were aired by the television station that same night.
Malay daily Utusan Malaysia published Mazlan’s statement the following day.
Anwar said they had made a report on Aug 4, 2013, and the investigating officer had taken his statement at the Sungai Buloh prison on Nov 18, 2015.
The police officer said the investigation revealed that he had no bank accounts in Singapore as stated in one of the letters.
The duo also sent a letter to then attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, inquiring about the status of their reports against Mazlan, made to the Petaling Jaya police.
However, Anwar said he was unsure whether police had recorded a statement from Mazlan.
Anwar has been serving a five-year jail term for sodomy since Feb 10, 2015. This was after the Federal Court upheld his conviction and sentence by the Court of Appeal.
Karpal, who was Anwar’s lead counsel in the sexual misconduct case, was killed in a car accident on April 17, 2014.
In Anwar’s witness statement, he said police had classified their reports as criminal defamation, an offence under Section 505 of the Penal Code.
Anwar said he subsequently instructed his lawyer to file the defamation suit against Mazlan, Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Bhd and Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd for publishing the defamatory words on Oct 16, 2015.
He is seeking an unspecified amount in damages, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.
He said the statement by the defendants implied that he was a politician who lacked integrity, was of low morals and unfit to hold public office as he offered bribes.
At the time the statement was made, Anwar said, he was the opposition leader and Permatang Pauh MP, and the allegation put him in low esteem in the eyes of the public.
He added that the publisher and television station had practised irresponsible journalism as they did not verify Mazlan’s statement.
In the TV3 footage shown in court today, Mazlan was seen holding a press conference, with bags containing the letters.
When further questioned by Hasnal, Anwar said TV3 would have obtained the defamatory words from Mazlan’s press statement, which was distributed during the press conference.
“Mazlan is the source of the story although he did not distribute the poison pen letters to the reporters,” he said.
Hasnal insisted that his client had only released the press statement but wanted the authorities to investigate the veracity of the letters.
Anwar said this was a good try but did not make sense, adding that the statement must be in reference to the letters.
Anwar, who was represented by Sangeet Kaur, said Mazlan was prejudiced against him and Karpal, which was why he had wanted to publicise the letters.
“It was an irresponsible act by him, and the media did not practise ethical journalism as they did not contact him for clarification,” he said.
Anwar said he was willing to settle his suit out of court only if Mazlan was prepared to apologise.
“My defamation suit against a lawyer in Penang did not go to trial after the defendant apologised for uttering similar defamatory words sourced from Mazlan’s press statement,’ he added.
The hearing will continue before Judicial Commissioner Faizah Jamaludin.
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Sumber No action against Mazlan despite police report, says Anwar