Rosli Dahlan receives grovelling apology from Utusan
Paper expresses regret for “sensational journalism exceeding the parameters of ethical journalism”
(Free Malaysia Today) – Lawyer Rosli Dahlan today received a grovelling second apology from Utusan Malaysia in respect of a libellous article which it published about him entitled, “Police lawyer who failed to declare assets charged in court today”, repeating an apology which it had previously made to him in April 2008.
In its apology today Utusan confirmed that various statements which they had made about Rosli were untrue, including that he was a Singapore citizen, that he had failed to disclose his assets, that he had hidden assets belonging to senior police officers, that he had maliciously tried to stifle investigations and had acted in breach of etiquette governing practising lawyers.
Utusan further acknowledged that Rosli was in fact a Malaysian citizen, that he had made the required disclosure of assets, that he was not hiding the assets of police officers and that he had at all times cooperated with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and had acted ethically.
The paper also acknowledged that Rosli had been acquitted by a court of all charges brought against him by the ACA.
Admitting that the article was sensational and that they themselves had exceeded the parameters of ethical journalism, the paper acknowledged and expressed regret for the harm which it had caused Rosli through its reporting.
Rosli, a partner of an established law firm in Kuala Lumpur, had in September 2009 commenced a suit for general damages of RM20 million and exemplary and/or aggravated damages of a further RM30 million against 17 defendants including Utusan, its editors and journalists, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and several of its officers including its current chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed, and the Government of Malaysia.
