Deep Throat not so deep for Claire Rewcastle Brown
It has been a ‘holy’ tenet of journalism that a journalist/reporter does NOT reveal his/her sources, which has been why we have come to learn of special ‘nicks’ like ‘Deep Throat’ or a ‘Lil’ Birdie’.
KTemoc Konsiders
The Malaysian Insight – Police investigating Ambiga for ‘causing public alarm’ in Sarawak Report article (extracts):
Rewcastle-Brown has named Ambiga as her source of information in alleging that top leaders in the Islamist party had received money from Najib. […]
According to Rewcastle-Brown’s defence and counterclaim statement seen by The Malaysian Insight, she said she had spoken to Ambiga in July last year regarding Najib, state investor fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad and PAS.”
Ambiga had told the defendant that her sources, whom she said were reliable, estimated the amount that had been paid was around RM90 million,” said Rewcastle-Brown in her court filing dated October 11.
Rewcastle-Brown said she published parts of her conversation with Ambiga in good faith as a political commentary on a matter of public interest. […]
In his suit, Hadi claimed that he had been defamed in a Sarawak Report article, titled “As Najib denies all over 1MDB let’s not forget his many other criminal connections”, published on August 6 last year.
The article suggested that money was given in exchange for PAS’ support for Barisan Nasional.
In her counterclaim, Rewcastle-Brown said the claimant had provided or aided two blogs, including the Raja Petra Kamarudin-run Malaysia Today, for them to run articles to harass her.
“The harassment has caused the defendant (Rewcastle-Brown) severe stress, anxiety and distress, for which she claims damages.”
Rewcastle-Brown also applied for an injunction to stop Hadi from further harassing her.
There are a couple of points to be gleaned from the article by The Malaysian Insight, namely:
1. Claire Newcastle seems pretty brittle – for a so-called journalist who boasts of big-time exposure of so & so or this & that, she has been easily rattled on this case, claiming harassment from Hadi Awang and, wakakaka, RPK.
Strange isn’t it, considering she did not feel ‘harassed’ when exposing Peh-Mor. Perhaps she was then on firmer grounds?
2. It has been a ‘holy’ tenet of journalism that a journalist/reporter does NOT reveal his/her sources, which has been why we have come to learn of special ‘nicks’ like ‘Deep Throat’ or a ‘Lil’ Birdie’.
But without her fingernails being even tagged at, Claire Rewcastle Brown has squealed so loudly she would have scared away all the fruit bats of Sarawak, in ratting on Ambiga Sreenevasan as her ‘source’ on the alleged RM90 million bribe PM Najib provided to PAS (assuming in the first place that Ambiga was really her source).
Obviously Claire Rewcastle Brown is NOT a journalist to inspire confidence in wannabe-sources if she so readily cries “She told me so” the moment she feels ‘harassed’.
