KUALA LUMPUR — Former deputy religious minister Datuk Mashitah Ibrahim is suing a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and two of its office bearers for defamation over their claims that she and her husband were involved in organised crime and human trafficking in Myanmar.
In her suit filed at the Shah Alam High Court on September 9, Mashitah named Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim, Azirul Syafiq Sazali and the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) as defendants.
She is seeking a court order for all three defendants to delete their respective Facebook posts dated August 28 which showed a video clip of a press conference they held, and media statement they issued regarding Masbitah and her husband’s alleged involvement in crimes.
She also wants another social media post on September 3 on the same platforms and accounts deleted, and a TikTok post on August 28 by Azirul removed.
Noting that Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain had cleared her and her husband, former diplomatic officer Datuk Abdul Shakor Abu Bakar, of the defendants’ claims, Mashitah is seeking an unequivocal apology from the three defendants, and an injunction to stop them from publishing, broadcasting, sharing or reproducing the deleted postings through any other medium.
As Hishamuddin’s press conference and media statement were reported by news portals and various media, Mashitah is also seeking that his apology be published prominently.
She is requesting general damages, compensatory damages, aggravated damages and exemplary damages from all three defendants, costs and other reliefs deemed necessary by the court, as well as 5% interest on the amount fixed by the court for each year until all payments are settled.
In her statement of claim filed on September 9 through law firm Akberdin & Co, Mashitah said MHO chairman Hishamuddin, committee member Azirul Syafiq, and the organisation implied that she was an immoral person, a bad example to society, and one who had tarnished the honour of women and of Islam.
Although her name was not said in the defendants’ press conference and statement, their mention of “a woman deputy minister who served during Najib’s administration until 2018” was in clear reference to her.
This was also evidenced from the defendants’ use of her pictures during their press conference on August 28, despite having blurred her face in the photos.
“Although the pictures are blurred, they are clearly screenshots of postings on the Facebook account belonging to the plaintiff known as Datuk Mashitah Ibrahim,” her statement of claim said.
“It is clear that while the plaintiff’s image was blurred in those pictures, it would be known to the public especially to friends of the plaintiff on Facebook, that the ‘politician’ referred to by the defendants would be the plaintiff,” her statement added.
She said the defendants’ posts which had been shared on social media had also brought negative comments against her.
Additionally Mashitah said the claims that tied her and her husband to a company named Dongmei Group, to Wan Kuok Koi or ‘Brokentooth”, and to the Myanmar junta and border group forces are malicious and libellous.
The former Baling MP, who is now a businesswoman and executive chairman of Yayasan Pembangunan Pondok Malaysia, said she lodged police reports on August 29 and August 31 over the defendants’ claims.
The court, meanwhile, has scheduled case management for Mashitah’s suit on September 17, Bernama reported her lawyer, Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, as saying. — September 13, 2024