Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli said he intends to sue over allegations raised by an Umno Youth leader that his NGO Invoke had received foreign funds linked to Israel.
“I have asked my legal team to explore an immediate lawsuit. If we can establish the slander, we can win some funds to help Invoke's operations,” he tweeted today.
He was referring to “malicious slander” by Umno Youth deputy chief Khairul Azwan Harun in the Dewan Negara, which he said had been telecast in part by TV3 and several Media Prima networks.
Azwan was reported saying Invoke had broken the law by phoning his respondents over his survey, and that his NGO had received foreign funds with the aim of “poisoning” the minds of Malaysians.
According to the TV3 report, Azwan claimed Invoke received funds from the US that were allegedly controlled by pro-Israeli leaders.
“Invoke has never received a single sen from any organisation, whether at home or abroad.
“We have never had any contact with any parties that have ties to the Israeli regime, as alleged by Khairul.
“I dare him to repeat his allegation outside the Dewan Negara so I can take immediate steps to sue him,” said Rafizi separately in a statement today.
He said Khairul may enjoy immunity of the Dewan, but his lawyers will look for avenues to pursue legal action against him regardless.
The Pandan MP explained the NGO is funded entirely locally through their fund raising activities.
“Invoke is financed entirely by the thousands of Malaysian citizens who use our services or buy tickets and campaign materials sold to support our operations,” he said.
He added Invoke has published the list of contributors who have made purchases or donated to Invoke's finances.
“We have adhered to all regulations and laws related to our operations, just like what is being practised by other research groups such as Merdeka Centre, Centre for Strategic Engagement (Cense),” he added.
'Far more surveyed by Umno'
Rafizi, who is PKR vice-president, said he will also set his legal team on TV3, “which has clearly slandered Invoke with their false news that we are funded by foreign bodies”.
Yesterday, Utusan Malaysia also reported Umno Youth exco Ibdillah Ishak lodging a police report claiming Invoke had infringed on the personal data of 17 million Malaysians.
Ibdillah was also reported accusing Invoke of planning to spread “false GE14 results” to “confuse the rakyat so they won't accept the official results”, and this could cause "unrest and instability".
Rafizi called this an attempt to “cripple Invoke's operations” in the run-up to the election, and urged the public not to be intimidated from signing up as volunteers to assist the NGO.
As for survey respondents, Umno, he claimed, had contacted far more people in their surveys compared to Invoke.
“If Invoke is going to be probed for conducting surveys, why isn't Umno also probed in a big way, because the volume of their telephone surveys are far greater compared to ours.” -Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.