KUALA LUMPUR: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today he will sue Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Strategic Communications team and the New Straits Times for defamation over an allegedly false report of him making “veiled threats” against Penangites.
In a statement today, his office said Lim “has no choice” but to make the move following a report quoting the team’s deputy director Eric See-To claiming Penang’s i-sejahtera welfare programme will be affected by the chief minister’s imprisonment.
“Lim Guan Eng had never made such a statement or a speech yesterday in the DAP Penang Hari Raya Aidilfitri Open House in Jawi, Nibong Tebal. Defamatory action will be taken against BN media and BNSC Deputy Director,” read the statement.
The team had said Lim should face his corruption case head on instead of trying to delay it by challenging the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
See-To noted that Lim has yet to answer his corruption charges one year after the DAP secretary-general was charged with two counts of corruption over the purchase of his house allegedly below market value.
Lim is challenging the constitutionality of Section 62 of the MACC Act that requires the accused to deliver to the prosecution their defence statement and a copy of documentary evidence for the defence before the start of the trial.
Source: The Malay Mail Online
