We act for Tan Sri Dato' Dr Khoo Kay Peng. Our client is the chairman and group chief executive of Malayan United Industries Bhd and MUI Properties Berhad. He is also a director of Pan Malaysian Industries Bhd, South China Morning Post (Holdings) Ltd, the Bank of East Asia Ltd as well as chairman of Morning Star Holdings Ltd and Laura Ashley Holdings PLC.
The companies referred to are companies which are listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange or the London Stock Exchange. Our client is also a council member of the Malaysian-British Business Council and the Malaysia-China Business Council.
Our client has instructed us to write to yourselves with regard to the following:
1) It has come to our client's attention that you have recently published several letters from a person known as "Khoo Kay Peng", setting out his views on several topics of general interest to your readers/subscribers, on your website.
2) Our client has never written or contributed to any articles published on the website. Despite this, our client has been contacted by third parties seeking to discuss the articles that were published in the website as they were under the impression that our client was the author of the articles.
3) As a result of the above, our client being a well-respected and well-known member of the Malaysian corporate world, both locally and internationally, is concerned that many other readers of the letters or articles written by the said "Khoo Kay Peng" may mistakenly believe that the writer and our client are one and the same.
4) Our client, being a well-known corporate and society figure and in his various capacities and positions as listed above, has made many public statements setting out his views on a diverse range of issues.
5) Our client is now concerned that any article or letter written by the said "Khoo Kay Peng" which espouses views or statements contradicting those public statements made by our client and/or statements made by companies and organisations associated with him, will cause immeasurable damage to our client's interest in the corporate world and may even lead to defamation of his character and reputation.
To ensure that there is no possibility of our client being confused or mistaken for the said "Khoo Kay Peng", we write to seek your assurance that in the event you choose to publish any further letters or articles from the said "Khoo Kay Peng" on the website, where credit or a byline is given to the author, you will in future, ensure that the writer is credited as " Mr Khoo Kay Peng" and that a general description of his address or organisation is set out when describing the author of the article.
Editor's note:
Malaysiakini has written to Shearn Delamore & Co informing the legal firm that it is not our policy to include a 'Mr' or 'Ms' to our letter writers' names. In addition, Khoo Kay Peng - which is Khoo's real name - writes in his own personal capacity and thus naming the organisation he represents is not acceptable. All letters from Khoo published by Malaysiakini already carried 'Selangor' along with his name. We are running the above letter to clear any confusion relating to the two names.