Amanah leader sues daily for misreporting views on Hadi’s bill
Khalid Samad claims Berita Harian article had painted him and Amanah as having the same tone with DAP in opposing amendments to enhance powers of shariah courts.
(FMT) – Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad is suing local daily Berita Harian for allegedly misreporting his statement on the proposed amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) 1965, which is also known as Act 355.
In his statement of claim filed on Feb 3, Khalid alleged that Berita Harian had published a news report on May 27, last year that said the Amanah communications director had objected to the debate on Act 355’s amendments along with other DAP MPs, including Anthony Loke (Seremban), Teresa Kok (Seputeh), and Chong Chieng Jen (Bandar Kuching) during the Dewan Rakyat seating.
“This article did not reflect my stand on Act 355.
“And it painted me as someone who opposed the Islamic enactment and made an enemy with PAS on issues involving Islam,” the statement read.
The suit was originally filed on Feb 3 by Khalid’s lawyer, Faiz Fadzil with the statement of claim filed on March 3.
It was reported on Berita Harian’s front page last May that Khalid had questioned the government on why they allowed the Islamist party to debate the controversial private member’s bill tabled by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.
Khalid also claimed that the article had painted him and Amanah as having the same tone with DAP in opposing the Bill.
He said Berita Harian’s group editor and reporters have failed to practise responsible journalism when they did not verify the authenticity of a statement attributed to him.
“The newspaper had published the article with the intention to tarnish my reputation as a public figure,” he said.
Khalid is seeking damages and an apology from Berita Harian.
Khalid had reportedly told a press conference last year that he was considering legal actions against Berita Harian over their article, “Kerajaan beri PAS laluan, DAP, Amanah bantah”.
His other lawyer, Hanipa Maidin had sent a letter of demand on May 27, 2016 asking the Malay daily to apologise and retract the news article within a seven-day period.
However, Berita Harian did not respond to his letter.
