Rosli Dahlan files two additional summons
November 6, 2009
Comment:
Sometime in September, 2009 (September 20?), I carried in this blog a report with due acknowledgment to Malaysia-Today that respected Malaysian lawyer Encik Rosli Dahlan filed a rm50 million suit against MACC, the Government of Malaysia and Utusan Malaysia (a paper owned by UMNO) for defamation and unlawful detention.
Most of my blog readers were sympathetic towards Encik Rosli. They respected his passion for justice and fair play, and admired his courage as they could identify with his plight. Most of us including myself feel at that time –and we still do — that the courts, despite its imperfections, remain the last bastion of justice. Encik Rosli, as an ordinary citizen like the rest of us (but with the added advantage of years of legal practice to his credit and a reputation to go with it), has rights guaranteed under our constitution and these rights are inviolable. But for some mysterious reasons, that report was expunged from my blog.
Today, I am posting a report which appeared in Berita Harian, Singapore, and posted in Malaysia-Today, that Encik Rosli made two additional summons against The Star, its Chief Editor, Dato Seri Wong Chun Wai and Chief Reporter Charles Lourdes, and another English language paper. It is interesting to note that none of our mainstream media carried Encik Rosli ’s latest action.–Din Merican
November 5, 2009
Peguam Terkenal Rosli Dahlan fail dua lagi tuntutan saman
By Darwis Said, Berita Harian Singapore
SELEPAS membuat tuntutan saman ke atas Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM), kerajaan Malaysia dan akhbar Utusan Malaysia kerana memfitnah, menyerang dan menahannya secara salah, seorang peguam tersohor di Malaysia, Encik Rosli Dahlan, kini difahamkan mengajukan dua lagi tuntutan saman terhadap dua akhbar arus perdana di negara itu.
Dalam pernyataan tuntutan keduanya yang difailkan di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur 21 Oktober lalu yang salinannya diperolehi akhbar Berita Harian, Encik Rosli, sebagai plaintif, mengemukakan tuntutan saman ke atas tiga defendan: The Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd, syarikat pemilik dan penerbit akhbar The Star; ketua editor akhbar itu, Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai; dan ketua wartawannya, Encik Lourdes Charles (kini bergelar Datuk).
Peguam itu juga difahamkan membuat tuntutan saman ketiga terhadap sebuah lagi akhbar bahasa Inggeris, SPRM (dulunya Badan Pencegah Rasuah, atau BPR), dan beberapa individu berhubung penyebaran laporan berunsur fitnah terhadapnya.
Dalam saman pertamanya September lalu terhadap 17 defendan, termasuk pegawai SPRM, Jabatan Peguam Negara, Bank Negara dan akhbar Utusan Malaysia, Encik Rosli, 48 tahun, menuntut ganti rugi sejumlah RM50 juta ($20.4 juta).
Dalam pernyataan tuntutan keduanya, beliau tidak menyatakan jumlah ganti rugi tetapi menuntut bayaran ganti rugi am, ganti rugi teruk/atau teladan, faedah, kos, permintaan maaf tanpa syarat dan perintah lanjut yang dianggap wajar oleh pihak mahkamah. Difahamkan Encik Rosli berbuat demikian atas dasar prinsip dan menegakkan keluhuran undang-undang.
Encik Rosli adalah rakan kongsi kanan firma guaman terkemuka di Kuala Lumpur, Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, yang diasaskan oleh Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Onn, yang juga Menteri Dalam Negeri Malaysia.
Encik Rosli mewakili bekas Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial (JSJK) Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), Pesuruhjaya Polis Datuk Pahlawan Ramli Yusuff, pada 2007 dan juga menasihati Datuk Johari Baharom, yang menjadi Timbalan Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri Malaysia ketika itu. Ia melibatkan kes kontroversi mengenai kegiatan sindiket pinjaman wang haram atau ‘along’, yang disiasat pegawai kanan polis itu atas arahan Datuk Johari.
Encik Rosli juga terlibat dalam kes tuntutan sivil syarikat penerbangan milik negara, Malaysia Airlines (MAS), terhadap bekas Pengerusinya, Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli, yang melibatkan kerugian melebihi RM8 bilion, yang turut disiasat oleh JSJK di bawah arahan Datuk Ramli ketika itu.
Pada 2007, akhbar arus perdana Malaysia telah memetik sumber BPR sebagai berkata bahawa Datuk Ramli disiasat di bawah satu akta pencegahan rasuah negara itu kerana disyaki memiliki aset bernilai RM27 juta. Sebaliknya, pertuduhan ke atasnya ditukar menjadi penyalahgunaan kuasa, manakala aset yang dikatakan gagal diisytiharkannya itu melibatkan isu dua unit pejabat bernilai RM1 juta dan beberapa saham yang tidak mencapai jumlah RM27 juta seperti yang dilaporkan terdahulu.
Malah, Datuk Ramli telah pun dibebaskan daripada pertuduhan menyalahgunakan kuasa, iaitu menggunakan pesawat polis bagi kepentingan peribadi oleh Mahkamah Sesyen Kota Kinabalu kerana pihak pendakwaan ‘gagal membuktikan kes prima facie dan Tertuduh berhak dilepaskan’ kerana mendapati Datuk Ramli sebenarnya menjalankan tugas rasminya ketika itu.
Dalam siri tindakan guamannya, Encik Rosli juga mendakwa bahawa beliau dianiaya kerana kes kontroversi yang dikendalikannya dan juga kerana membela Datuk Ramli.
Berita Harian difahamkan bahawa Datuk Ramli juga telah membuat aduan yang sama dalam laporan polis yang dibuatnya terhadap pihak terbabit. Semasa proses pembelaan itu, BPR sebaliknya turut mendakwa, menahan dan mengaitkan Encik Rosli dengan dakwaan yang dibuat mereka terhadap Datuk Ramli.
Dalam tuntutan terbarunya terhadap The Star, Encik Rosli merujuk kepada dua artikel akhbar itu pada 12 dan 13hb Oktober 2007 yang bertajuk: ‘ACA Arrest Singapore Lawyer’ dan ‘Lawyer Charged With Hiding Information On His Assets’.
Beliau menyifatkan dua laporan itu mengandungi fitnah apabila memberikan gambaran bahawa beliau adalah rakyat asing dan mendakwa akhbar itu gagal mengesahkan fakta laporannya termasuk hakikat bahawa beliau sebenarnya adalah rakyat Malaysia.
Menurutnya, laporan itu menyebabkan kegelisahan dan keaiban kepada beliau dan keluarganya serta kehilangan klien guamannya. Encik Rosli kini difahamkan sedang menyiapkan tuntutan terbarunya terhadap SPRM dan sebuah lagi akhbar bahasa Inggeris arus perdana kerana mengulangi dakwaan fitnah terhadapnya.
TRANSLATION
After issuing summons on MACC, the Government of Malaysia and Utusan Malaysia for defamation and unlawful detention, respected Malaysian lawyer, Encik (Mr) Rosli Dahlan is believed to be issuing two additional summons against two mainstream media in that country.
His statement of claims against them which were filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on October 21, copies of which were obtained by Berita Harian, Encik Rosli, as plaintiff, served the summons on three defendents; The Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd, the owner and publisher of The Star; its Chief Editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai; and its Chief Reporter, Mr. Lourdes Charles (now a Datuk).
The lawyer is also believed to have made a third summon toward another English language, MACC and several individuals in connection with the publication of reports about him for defamation.
In his first summon last September against 17 defendants, including officers of MACC, Attorney-General’s Office, Bank Negara and Utusan Malaysia, Encik Rosli sought damages totalling RM50 million ($20.4 million).
In his second summon, he did not state the amount of damages but he sought damages, punititive or defamatory damages, interest, costs, unconditional apology and other damages considered appropriate by the courts. It is understood that Encik Rosli did so on principle and in the interest of upholding the rule of law.
Encik Rosli is a partner in a well known legal firm in Kuala Lumpur, Lee Hishamuddin Allen & Gledhill, which was founded by Datuk Seri Hishamuddin, also Minister of Home Affairs, Malaysia.
Encik Rosli represented former Director, Commercial Crimes Division, Royal Malaysian Police, Datuk Pahlawan Ramli Yusuff in 2007 and also advised Datuk Johari Baharom, who was at that time Deputy Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs. Datuk Johari had instructed Dato Ramli to investigate the activities of illegal moneylenders (alongs).
Encik Rosli was also involved in the civil claims of Malaysia Airlines against its former Chairman, Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli, involving losses in excess of RM8 billion which was being investigated by the Commercial Crimes Division under the direction of Datuk Ramli at that time.
In 2007, Malaysian mainstream media quoted Anti Corruption Agency sources as stating that Datuk Ramli was investigated under the Anti-Corruption Act on the suspicion of owning assets valued at RM27 million. Subsequently, the charge against him was change to one of abuse of power, when the so-called undeclared asset involved two office units worth RM1 million and a number of blocks of shares, which did not amount to RM27 million as reported previously.
Datuk Ramli has been freed from the charge of abuse of power, that of using police premises for personal interest by the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court because the prosecution ‘ failed to make a prima facie case and the accused is entitled to be freed’ for it was found that Datuk Ramli was actually performing his official duties at that time.
In a series of his summons, Encik Rosli claimed that he was being victimised for his defence of controversial cases and Datuk Ramli.
Berita Harian was given to understand that Datuk Ramli had made a similiar claims in his police report against those involved. During defence, the ACA charged, detained and linked him with the charges that were made against Datuk Ramli.
In his new summon against The Star, Encik Rosli referred to two articles on October 12 and 13, 2007 captioned “ACA Arrest Singapore Lawyer” and “Lawyer Charged With Information on his Assets”.
He viewed the two articles as malicious and defamatory by giving the impression that he is a foreign national and charged the newspaper of failing to report facts including the truth that he is actually a Malaysian.
According to him, the newspaper report was caused emotional strain and embarassment to him and his family serta loss of clientele. Encik Rosli is understood to be completing his new claims against MACC dan another English language newspaper for repeating and spreading malicious rumours about him.
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Someone e-mail to me this. I want to share.
Dr. Mahathir –
The person who invented this is genius!
When Dr. Mahathir was Prime Minister one a lousy day in the middle of the economic crisis, PM Mahathir was feeling extremely frustrated and wondering how a neighbouring country can be doing better than Malaysia.
One of his aides said, I heard that their leaders consult Feng Shui masters to ensure prosperity for the country. Dr M thought if that was the case, Malaysia Bomoh also can, and went to seek the top bomoh for advice.
After reviewing the case, the bomoh told Dr M that there were 2 things that he must do:
Bomoh: Step 1. You must blame the crisis on SOROS for everything.
Dr M: But Why?
Bomoh: Because SOROS stands for ‘Speculate On Ringgit Or Stocks’. You must blame him, and look at ways to control the ringgit and stock market.
Bomoh: Step 2 – You must get rid of ANWAR.
Dr M: What! why him?
Bomoh: Because ANWAR stands for ‘A Nation Without Any Ringgit’.
Dr M: But how? This is most difficult to do, he is popular with the people.
Bomoh: Aiyoh, you bodoh lah! Look at your name, MAHATHIR.
Make Anwar Homosexual And Then Highlight It Repeatedly
tean - November 7, 2009 at 6:07 am
Why is Bro Din so quiet , is he driving in neutral? or DinInNeutral
Brian - November 7, 2009 at 7:26 am
Brian,
I took a breather as my wife, Dr. Kamsiah tried to explain when she posted on those songs by the late Frank Sinatra for our weekend entertainment.
There is no way you and I can be neutral when it comes to issues of justice fundamental rights and civil liberties. I am, therefore,not neutral. As Edmund Burke said, for tyranny to triumph, it only takes a few good men to remain on the sidelines.
Encik Rosli could have easily avoided bringing his case before our courts and taking on the government of the day. It is no fun challenging “Whitehall”. But he did that as a matter of principle and in the interest of upholding the rule of law. I admire his courage and steadfastness. It is a lonely and perilous course, but one which is worthy of persistent and focused action.
His case is a “classic example” (to borrow this from my wife) of how government under the rubric of Malaysia Inc. uses its power to suppress dissent and obstruct the pursuit of justice by those who dare to challenge its authority over its citizenry. In politics,we have the Anwar case (Sodomy 2); on civil society, we have the plight of my dear friend Raja Petra, and with regard to the profession, we now have the example of Encik Rosli.
A respected lawyer who defended Dato Ramli and represented MAS in the Tajuddin Ramli case was humiliated and subjected to the harshness of investigative authority. Teoh Beng Hock lost his life, so did Kugan. To me, Encik Rosli is doing the right thing to protect his solid reputation and personal honour.
Let us not forget we are today being threatened by the forces of totalitarian authority which seeks at the same time to promote 1Malaysia. I cannot be DinInNeutral. Thanks for your comments.–Din Merican
dinobeano - November 7, 2009 at 8:54 am
cant wait to see the grim face of the hypocrites in the Star paper.
pay back time, aint it?
aca - November 7, 2009 at 12:16 pm
” I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT WITH YOU ” . – extracted from a comment made by salmiah hassan in reply to topman in a thread below.
topman ,
i did not mention this in my reply to you in the earlier thread , but i say it now . this statement was reminiscent of watching datuk seri hishamuddin wave his kris at that fateful umno general assembly meeting. today this same man is the minister for home affairs .
that said , the quote above was not made by someone important . it was made by an idiot who happened to become the boss because of her race and nothing more .
this plus the story above will show you how embolden some people have become during the 22 years of tdm’s rule . as you can see , there is very little respect for the rule of law not only by the umno and barisan politicians but also by the custodians of the law like the police , the macc and maybe even the religious department and the biro tata negara . innocent and simple people can be trampled over by the powers that be just because these simple people think differently , innocent people are charged for crimes they may not have committed but officials, govt politicians get away with daylight murder, theft and robbery as we have seen in anwar ibrahim’s case and the many deaths in police custody and i can go on and on .
now this is the actual legacy of 22 years of tdm’s rule. you topman , maybe proud of it but i will never be . how can i be when tdm represents a person who on the one hand has stood up and spoken so eloquently at the united nations general assembly for the very principles that we all stand up for but yet upon returning home , we read about the ” plunder ” on behalf of his children , family and cronies.
so if this is what it ” costs ” for helping a community , then i think it is too expensive and i dont think the elders who create the enviroment that allows for the committment of these kinds of excesses deserve any respect.
salmiah hassan - November 7, 2009 at 3:22 pm
salmiah,
I am quite impressed with you of late. Your comments have been most useful for all of us on this blog.
I was once a great admirer of Dr. Mahathir out of provincial loyalty (we Kedahans must stick together kind of thinking mode) perhaps. I swallowed everything he said and endorsed everything he did in the interest of his own race. When he failed, he said “Melayu mudah lupa”. In truth, he failed them, and he is the man who “mudah lupa” that he was elected by the people to improve their lot. In stead, he was the Lord of the Malay community. He now thinks he is indispensable to our country. Hence his unwillingness to retire gracefully. In stead, he has become a nuisance factor in Malaysian politics.
His solution to the Malay Dilemma was to make the Malays dependent on the government (that is, Mahathir). We are not supposed to think for ourselves because we are blessed with a leader of his brilliance and vision. At the same time, while preaching modernism, he made sure that he “killed” all competitors to his throne starting with Musa Hitam, Ghafar Baba, Tengku Razakeigh to Anwar Ibrahim. He succeeded, as a result, to stay in power for 22 years by destroying all opposition to his rule. His rule was absolute and all institutions of governance including the judiciary and civil service must be subservient to him. To him, the end justifies the means.
His ersatz capitalism is blatant crony capitalism where the rich Malays are the rent collectors while the rest of the community cannot fend for themselves. Many of Mahathir’s policy interventions which were meant to be developmental have been poorly conceived, or badly implemented or abused by politically connected business interests. Privatization which began in full swing after the 1985-86 economic crisis was ideologically driven and designed for the benefit of self serving private interests with links to UMNO.
Yes we have achieved economic growth but it was at the expense of our souls. Malaysia is in a mess right now and prudent investors have divested out of the country. Mahathir has messed up the judiciary and the civil service. And he is still talking BIG.—Din Merican
dinobeano - November 7, 2009 at 3:55 pm