‘I’ll see you in court Ummi’

Baginda all ready to face down the woman suing him for RM100 million for defamation

KUCHING: Baginda anak Minda who exposed alleged improprieties of Ummi Hafilda Ali welcomed the RM100 million defamation suit she filed recently against him.

“I expected her to sue me after I released the statement about her,” Baginda said, pointing out that his statement had been thoroughly vetted by his lawyers before its release.

“I’m not afraid of the suit, in fact it gives me the opportunity to bare all there is about her,” he said of Ummi who was in the centre of Anwar Ibrahim’s dismissal as deputy prime minister in 1998.

Baginda, a businessman based in Kuala Lumpur, said he will challenge the suit and file his defence in the next few days. “I’m consulting my lawyers now,” he added.

“But in the meantime, I’m going nationwide to talk about her and me,” he said.

On Thursday, Ummi filed the RM100 million suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Baginda who she alleged has defamed her.

She is seeking injunction against Baginda and Malaysiakini from repeating or publishing further defamatory statements.

In her statement of claim, she said that Baginda’s statement and article implied that she was:

- that she was a desperate businesswoman who wanted more business opportunities

- an immoral woman

- a woman with many scandals

- a lady who practises pre-marital sex

- a person who cannot be trusted

- a woman who is not truthful

- a cheap woman who could be paid to do anything

- a liar

- a person who is willing to lie in court

• was a person responsible in bringing allegedly present victim Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in the present sodomy case.

The suit was filed after Baginda threatened to expose her alleged improprieties and claimed that he had sex with her in London, although she denied it.

Baginda made the statement after Ummi had accused Anwar Ibrahim of wrongdoings while she campaigned for Umno in the Merlimau and Kerdau by-elections early this month.

Baginda and Ummi were business partners in a project related to the construction of 10 advertisement posts along the road to the Kuala Lumpur International airport. Each post was worth RM1 million, but the business failed. - FMT