One week to retract or we meet in court, Marina tells ISMA
(MM) – Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir has issued a legal ultimatum to Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA), promising to haul the Muslim activist group to court unless it retracts allegedly false and “defamatory” claims against her by next week.
The Malay Mail Online understands that Marina had through her lawyers recently sent out a letter of demand to ISMA and its office-bearers over the group’s statements that had purportedly cast serious doubts on her “integrity and honesty”.
The letter claims that ISMA’s allegedly groundless statements were intended to smear the reputation of Marina, a prominent activist who is also the eldest daughter of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In the letter of demand (LoD) sighted by The Malay Mail Online, Marina’s lawyers listed four demands that ISMA must fulfill, including a confirmation on whether the group stands by its allegations.
One of the demands states that ISMA must give a satisfactory explanation of the reason and the grounds for the group’s attempt to link Marina to local human rights coalition Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the Universal Periodic Review Process (Comango)’s campaign.
ISMA is also required to fully retract its defamatory claims and publish an apology based on Marina’s terms in its own website and Facebook page, on news portals The Malay Mail Online and The Malaysian Insider, as well as in two Malay dailies, Sinar Harian and Utusan Malaysia.
ISMA must also give Marina a written assurance and undertake to refrain from further publishing the defamatory statements or make similar statements against her, the letter said.
According to the LoD dated November 19, ISMA must fulfil these demands within seven days from the letter’s date or face a court case.
Earlier, the letter traced ISMA’s allegedly defamatory statements, where the group was said to have distributed 70,000 leaflets that had featured Marina’s photograph and named her as a purported “dalang” or mastermind of Comango, which ISMA had claimed was composed of 54 “anti-Islam” non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
