Be responsible in seeking the truth, don't repeat or spread slander, and don't help others to spread slander, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur heard today.
These are the reminders given by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to the media, especially TV3, when he testified in a defamation suit he filed against former BN candidate Mazlan Ismail, Sistem Televisyen (M) Bhd (TV3) and Utusan Malaysia.
Anwar, 70, who was cross-examined by TV3's counsel TH Liew, agreed with the lawyer that the allegation made in the poison pen letter highlighted by Mazlan alleging he and the late Karpal Singh had bribed the judiciary and the Attorney-General's Chambers was of public importance.
However, he said, the media should report it truthfully.
Anwar added that in this case, both TV3 or Umno-owned Utusan did not contact him for verification.
"If TV3 acted in good faith, then why they did not contact me to verify. There is clear malice (with the report which was aired) and it was made in bad faith," he told the court presided by Justice Faizah Jamaluddin.
"The media should be responsible in seeking the truth and not repeat or spread slander or help others to spread slander."
TV3 aired its report on Aug 2, 2013, where Mazlan claimed to have received 6,000 copies of a poison pen letter alleging that he and Karpal had bribed the judiciary and the prosecutors.
Anwar, in this defamation suit, had identified Mazlan (photo) as a former Penang PAS deputy commissioner who used to work for the late Karpal, but eventually crossed over to Umno and lost against him during the 13th general elections.
Anwar claimed that Mazlan held a media conference on Aug 2, 2013, and uttered seriously defamatory and malicious words implying that he was a corrupt person without ethics, had engaged in criminal activities and was a dishonest and immoral person.
When asked by Utusan's lawyer Azhar Arman Ali whether there was a publication on the allegation that RM50 million was used to pay the judiciary, the former opposition leader replied he was informed by Karpal that Utusan and TV3 had reported it.
However, when pointed to the article published on Aug 3, 2013, Anwar agreed that the figure cited in his and Karpal's police reports was not stated in the Utusan's article.
On another question by Azhar, the PKR de facto leader denied that Utusan had tried to verify the news with him.
The trial continues on Thursday where Anwar will be re-examined by his lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo. -Mkini
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