Wednesday February 1, 2012

Ex-Pos Malaysia boss admits letter did not complain of mistakes

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Pos Malaysia Bhd (PMB) chairman Tan Sri Adam Kadir has admitted in the High Court that a letter he sent to TheEdge did not state that an article it published contained “false” information about him.

He agreed to a suggestion by publisher’s counsel Raja Eileen Soraya Raja Aman yesterday that the alleged defamatory article (published in the TheEdge financial daily on June 18, 2008) did not directly state that he had misused his position as then PMB chairman by getting involved in activities which caused losses to Pos Malaysia.

Re-examined by counsel Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, Adam agreed that his letter dated July 2, 2008, addressed to then TheEdge Financial Daily editor-in-chief Ho Kay Tat did not mention that it had published a false article of him, as he wanted to be polite.

However, Adam said he could not get in touch with TheEdge over the article and decided to take legal action after waiting for more than two years.

In his lawsuit filed on July 15, last year, Adam named Ho and publisher of TheEdge Financial Daily, The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd as defendants.

In his statement of claim, Adam said Ho had allowed The Edge Communications to publish a defamatory statement of him together with his photograph on the front page of the newspaper on June 18, 2008.

In the statement of defence filed on Aug 15 last year, the defendants stated that they would rely on qualified privilege and fair comment on a matter of public interest.

Ho, 53, who is now Star Publications (M) Bhd group managing director/CEO testified that the article titled “Adam resigns ahead of Pos Malaysia AGM” was published as a matter of public interest.

“PMB is a company listed on Bursa Malaysia Bhd and its major shareholder, Khazanah Nasional Bhd is the investment holding arm of the Government. Any issues or disputes involving any one of these two companies would be a matter of public interest, “ he told Raja Eileen.

Ho said The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd had no record of any written complaint by Adam over the article around the time of its publication.

He added that he only knew Adam was aggrieved over the contents of the article when he received a letter of demand dated Oct 20, 2010.

“I was surprised when I first saw the plaintiff’s letter of demand as it was sent almost two years after the article was published,” he said, adding that a response to the letter of demand was then made.

Asked if the publication of the alleged defamatory article was motivated by any ill-will he had towards Adam, he said: “Absolutely not. The article concerned a matter that would interest the public.

“In fact, I do not think it is defamatory of the plaintiff (Adam) to state that he had a disagreement with Khazanah Nasional Bhd.”

Ho said Adam had been a columnist for the daily writing about international trade and his last article was published on June 16, 2008.

The hearing continues on Feb 2 before Justice John Louis O’Hara.

Adam had also taken civil action against Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, claiming that Azman had, with his influence, caused him to be dismissed.

The suit has since been dismissed.

News

Wednesday February 1, 2012

Ex-Pos Malaysia boss admits letter did not complain of mistakes