Takiyuddin: I spoke to Rameli but wasn’t aware of settlement payment

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan has admitted that he was involved in discussions with corporate figure Rameli Musa on the lawsuit between party president Abdul Hadi Awang and Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown in the UK.

However, he said, he was only involved general discussions with Rameli and he was not aware Rameli had paid RM1.4 million to Rewcastle-Brown to settle the suit

“No, no, no. There was no discussion about any payment. It was never discussed,” Takiyuddin told Malaysiakini when asked whether the payment was raised during his meeting with Rameli.

“We did discuss Sarawak Report generally, but nothing about payment, the sum of the payment, (and) the method of payment.

“Even if it was discussed, I was not aware of it. It was not raised in my presence.”

Takiyuddin is said to be among five individuals to have contacted Rameli to help settle the suit with Rewcastle-Brown.

Also said to be involved are Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who was also Hadi's former political secretary, as well as lawyer Wan Rohimi Wan Daud.

Malaysiakini is withholding the names of the other two - a businessperson, and a person close to Hadi - pending their responses to our request for comment.

Failure to disseminate information about the terms of settlement is said to be the reason behind Hadi and PAS leaders denying that the payment took place, which in turn prompted speculation that Rameli (below) had acted on his own and manipulated information to portray PAS in a bad light.

When contacted by Malaysiakini two days ago, Takiyuddin said that it was not just him, but Hadi too was unaware of the payment.

“Whether there was payment or not is not the issue, but the bottom line is that Hadi and PAS did not pay,” Takiyuddin said, reiterating Hadi’s statement that was made on March 6.

“So, what can be verified is that it has been paid by a third party. We didn’t know about the payment process, the amount paid, and details of the payment. We didn’t know."

Sources told Malaysiakini that Takiyuddin was only present at the first meeting on the settlement of the lawsuit, on Oct 15 last year, which took place in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya.

Takiyuddin said meetings between him and Hadi with Rameli are a normal occurrence, since the PAS president and Rameli know each other.

Wan Rohimi when contacted told Malaysiakini to refer the matter to Takiyuddin in his capacity as the PAS secretary-general.

“I don’t know. I was not involved. You got the wrong person,” Wan Rohimi said when asked whether he was among the five people who met Rameli to discuss the Sarawak Report case.

Ahmad Samsuri’s press secretary Adram Musa told Malaysiakini that the Terengganu menteri besar generally does not respond to news that is “speculative and unproductive”.

“I am responding based on my experience of working with the menteri besar for over 15 years,” Adram said. -Mkini