Perkasa welcome to sue us, says G25 coordinator

(The Star) – The group of 25 (G25) prominent Malays calling for a rational dialogue on Islam in Malaysia says Perkasa is welcome to sue them if they believe there is cause for action.

G25 coordinator Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin (pic) said it was Perkasa’s right under the law to initiate legal action, but warned that they were not beyond the law themselves.

“It is good to see them (Perkasa) acting within the law instead of trying to break it.

“However, I must add that they seem to think that they can criticise and make baseless allegations against others, but they themselves remain beyond reproach,” she told The Star Online when contacted on Wednesday.

Noor Farida, who is former Malaysian ambassador to Netherlands, added that she would “let the courts decide” if the group went ahead with the lawsuit.

Perkasa said on Tuesday that it planned to sue the 25 eminent Malays for criticising them and singling them out for spreading extremist and racist views.

Its secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali had told the Malaysian Insider that they would sue Noor Farida and the other signatories for making baseless allegations against them.

This comes after Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali had labelled the G25 “cowards” during the association’s general assembly on Dec 14.

The G25, comprising of former high-ranking civil servants and diplomats, gained recognition for its moderate stance on Islam and race relations in Malaysia.

The group first came to the fore in early December when it sent an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, calling for a clearer understanding on the application of Islamic laws under the country’s constitutional democracy.