MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki has filed a defamation suit against Bloomberg and its Malaysian office, Bloomberg (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, over the article “Malaysian Anti-Graft Chief Returns to Stocks After Outcry”, published on Feb 10.
The suit was filed via Messrs Zain Megat and Murad yesterday (Feb 20) at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, where Azam was seeking several court orders and RM100 million general damages from the defendants.
Court documents showed that Azam sought the court’s injunction against the defendants to restrain them from publishing similar alleged defamatory statements against him, as well as demanding that Bloomberg delete the article within three days of the court’s judgment.
He demanded an apology from the defendants, in terms agreed by his solicitors and published in newspapers and social media that he chose.
He also demanded a separate amount of aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as five percent interest on the judgment sum per annum and other relief deemed fit.
Azam said, in the documents, that he had sent a letter of demand to the news agency before filing the suit.
“However, the defendants arrogantly and haughtily responded with ‘we stand by our reporting’ when contacted by a media agency regarding the said letter of demand.”
Supporting affidavits
Azam claimed that the article had severely impacted his reputation as MACC chief commissioner and that its headline, drafted with malice and mala fide, is scandalous, annoying, and disgusting.
He affirmed that the article can be naturally understood to mean that he has no integrity, is an untrustworthy public official, and that he has violated the relevant asset declaration rules.
“The article sarcastically portrays the plaintiff as having failed to comply with asset declaration obligations or acted in a non-transparent manner (and that) there was a reasonable basis to believe that the plaintiff was involved in misconduct.
“It exposes the plaintiff and also the MACC to hatred, anger, insult, and belittlement by the public.”
Azam claimed Bloomberg neglected to consider his detailed explanation in answering queries from the news agency before publishing the article.
“The defendants failed to take reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of the facts prior to the publication, including failing to conduct further verification, cross-checking sources, and proper evaluation of the information obtained.
“The defendants’ actions are contrary to the principles of responsible journalism and the elements under Section 8A of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (and that their) failure to take reasonable steps to verify, despite having the opportunity to do so, demonstrates gross negligence, reckless disregard against the truth, and malice.
“This is clearly defamatory against the plaintiff.”
Azam said he had fully complied with all asset declaration requirements imposed on public officials at all material times and that any acquisition or subsequent disposal of shares had been duly declared through designated official channels, including the Human Resources Management Information System.
He added that the shares mentioned in the report were disposed of by being issued, and that he has the legitimate financial ability to make such investments arising from legitimate income and retirement benefits.
“(Moreover) the date of disposal of shares is a material fact that directly affects readers’ perceptions of the plaintiff's integrity and compliance, but the defendants have neglected their duty to verify that fact.”
Subject of scrutiny
Bloomberg and Malaysiakini separately reported earlier this month that Azam owned significant shares in two companies that appeared to be in excess of what the civil service allowed.
Companies Commission of Malaysia records revealed that Azam had, at some point, held 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Partner Berhad and around 4.52 million shares in Awanbiru Technology Berhad.
The Velocity Capital Partner shares were believed to have been bought for around RM1.5 million, while the Awanbiru shares were estimated to have been valued between RM1.24 million and RM1.38 million at some point.
Subsequently, Bloomberg published another report, alleging that MACC officers had colluded with private individuals to strong-arm business rivals and stage corporate takeovers and that Azam was aware of the collusion and had even acted in support of such acts.
A special task force, headed by Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar, was formed on Feb 13 to investigate the claims against Azam.
Dusuki indicated to Malaysiakini, two days later, that the scope of the investigation would only focus on the shareholding allegations.
Azam’s defamation suit against Bloomberg was only on specific allegations regarding the shareholding. - Mkini
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