Fatihah Jamhari

HEBOH rakyat Malaysia berdesas-desus dan memperkatakan tentang kes saman fitnah melibatkan Pre­siden Pas, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang terhadap editor laman portal Sarawak Report, Clare Rewcastle-Brown. Yang dihebohkan bukanlah artikel yang dikatakan me­ngandungi fitnah terhadap Pas tetapi lebih kepada rentetan kes terutama pembelaan yang telah difailkan defendan. Secara ringkasnya, pembelaan dalam kes itu memetik pemakaian Seksyen 4 Akta Fitnah 2013 yang berkuat kuasa di United Kingdom (UK) berkaitan dengan ‘kepentingan awam’. Pembelaan Clare Rewcastle-Brown adalah bersandarkan hak orang awam untuk mengetahui perkara yang ditulisnya dalam artikel yang dituduh telah memfitnah Pas. Di Malaysia, kita tidak mempunyai peruntukan yang sama. Yang ada dalam Akta Fitnah 1957 yang berkuat kuasa di Malaysia adalah pembelaan ‘komen berpatutan’ yang sedikit sebanyak mempunyai kaitan dengan pem­belaan kepentingan awam. Di negara ini, seseorang defendan dalam saman fitnah mempunyai ...

KUALA LUMPUR – November 1, 2017 : Several lawyers have argued that it is not subjudice for Malaysians linked to a defamation suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown to talk about the case for now. Their argument is based on the elementary fact that the suit was filed in a British court, which simply has no power to penalise anyone in Malaysia. According to Zaki Azmi, it was thus strange that former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan should cite subjudice as the reason for keeping mum when asked to react to her name being mentioned by the editor as the source for an article she had written at her news portal. The article — which is why the suit was filed by PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang — against the editor — alleged that senior PAS leaders were bribed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. “It’s odd that she (Ambiga) deemed it subjudice for her to deny or confirm Clare’s claim, given the fact that she is not bound by British laws and the ethics of ...