Anwar: Did PAS pay Sarawak Report to settle court case?

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has accused PAS of paying a court settlement to Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown, and demanded clarification from the party regarding the matter.

"I want to ask and clarify, whether PAS made any payment to Clare. Is it true that they paid more than a million?" Anwar said after attending a business event at Hotel Equatorial in Penang.

He was responding to a question about the MACC stating that it has yet to find any 1MDB funds ending up in PAS' official bank account.

PAS had taken legal action against Rewcastle Brown for a 2016 article, in which she claimed that former premier Najib Abdul Razak was wooing PAS ahead of the election, and that RM90 million had flowed into the accounts of the party's top leaders.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang proceeded to sue Rewcastle Brown for libel in April the following year. However, on Feb 1 this year, Hadi decided to settle the matter out of court.

Anwar said this was the first time he was asking PAS to clarify such matters.

"Although they have attacked me for over a year, I never responded. This is the first time," said the Port Dickson MP.

"Because I see there is a conflict of statements by PAS, including the right to lie, which I cannot accept as a Muslim," he added.

Anwar urged MACC to provide a more complete picture about the claims against PAS, so that the rakyat would not be confused.

Malaysiakini is seeking PAS’s response regarding the alleged settlement.

PAS has repeatedly denied receiving money from 1MDB, and insisted that Hadi’s withdrawal of the suit against Rewcastle Brown is not tantamount to an admission of guilt.

Anwar said Clare's statement was very clear, as she only claimed that Umno funds were transfered to PAS leaders.

"The claims that 1MDB funds entered PAS accounts may have come from other sources," Anwar said.

"Hadi then initiated legal action but withdrew the case recently. Clare did not apologise and continued with her claim, to which Hadi made some loose remarks.

“This only means that PAS cannot defend themselves," he added. - Mkini