Don't cry over Guan Eng's legal notices, work on your defense instead, Loo told

Penang Gerakan acting youth chief Jason Loo is much better off putting actual facts in his defence against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's statement of claims than airing his rants and misplaced beliefs somewhere else, according to Lim's lawyer, Raja Syarafina Raja Shuib.

Raja Syarafina, who is also the Chief Minister's special legal officer, recalled that back in January, Loo was pictured in a press conference holding a "thank you" card addressed to Lim, asking why there were no legal letters despite his remarks against the CM over the undersea tunnel project and sale of state land on Peel Avenue.

"It was an entertaining stunt but nevertheless, a childish attempt to confidently demonstrate that his remarks on the sale of state land on Peel Avenue were ‘true and accurate’.

"His logic was naively simple – he must be right just because he wasn’t served with the cause papers," Raja Syarafina said in a statement.

However, on March 6, he sang a different tune in his press conference, she said.

Now faced with multiple statements of claims from Lim's solicitors, Loo's original confidence earlier is gone, she added.

"In his place is a boy who now writes emotional open letters to paint himself as the victim.

"Amusingly enough, he even wrote on why he studied law," said Raja Syarafina.

"I loathe to advise another legally-trained person on this basic procedure but he should know this - he is much better off putting actual facts in his defence against Lim's statement of claims than airing his rants and misplaced beliefs somewhere else".

In his press conference on March 6, Loo touched on the possibility of being made a bankrupt and being disqualified from being a candidate for the upcoming election due to the legal conundrum he is in.

He then lamented his latest predicament of having been served with three letters of demand over his remarks related to the RM 6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel and sale of state land on Peel Avenue to a private hospital for RM156 million to extense their medical facility.

Loo said he was "shaken" by the legal notices and condemned Lim (photo) for not practising what he preached as far as freedom of speech and freedom of expression were concerned.

"A bit of dramatic flair we have here, don’t we? To ease his worried mind, let’s address his concerns.

"First, he need not worry about being made a bankrupt unless of course, he knows all the allegations he made against Lim were untrue and baseless.

"So what is his point here?" Raja Syarafina asked.

She added that unless Gerakan has a rule that prohibits its members with ongoing legal suits against them from contesting in the general elections, he should be in safe stead.

Assuming further that he is well-versed with the law, Loo should know that save for bankrupts and those with convictions involving punishment of imprisonment and/or fine exceeding a certain limit, practically any Malaysian can be a candidate in the upcoming elections, Raja Syarafina said.

"The polling date is anyone’s guess for now, but is Loo expecting a conviction anytime before August 2018?" Raja Syarafina asked.

She then thanked Loo for reminding her about the importance of freedom of speech and the importance of having an opposition to provide a check-and-balance in the political system.

But freedom of speech is not an unfettered right and is subject to abuse especially by unscrupulous parties, Raja Syarafina said.

"As for having an opposition presence in the system, I think Malaysians prefer a dynamic opposition well-grounded on facts but perhaps this is new to him," she added. -Mkini