Political writer Yahaya Ismail has denied that he tried to extort Umno Youth chief aspirant Khairy Jamaluddin, who has since filed a police report against him.

yahya ismail Yahaya told Malaysiakini today he merely 'negotiated' with the Umno Youth leader regarding the copyright of his book ' Tuah dan Sial Khairy Jamaluddin '.

However, he could not remember the date and time of the meeting.

Dismissing that there were any elements of ' ugut ' (threat), the writer who is in his 60s said: "To ' ugut ' is like to put sand into the petrol tank of someone's car. There was no such thing."

He stressed that the meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son-in-law was strictly business.

'I told him that he can have the copyright (for the book) if he pays me RM100,000 and Khairy said 'I will tell you tomorrow'.

"When his people sent me back, they asked, 'Can't there be more negotiations (on the price)?'.

tuah dan sial khairy jamaluddin yahya ismail "I told them that the price was already low. The next day, his people returned the copy of the book and said 'Khairy has no money, so he is not buying'."

Yesterday, Khairy - who will contesting for the Umno Youth chief post this week - filed a police report in Kuala Lumpur accusing the veteran writer of ' ugut ' and slander.

"The main reason I am filling this report is because the content of the book is clearly slanderous against me.

"This book is a deliberate effort to ruin my image and political career," he was quoted as saying.

Khairy said that he first met the writer at his (Khairy's) office on Feb 17.

Commenting on the police report, Yahaya said he has not received any calls from the police regarding the case.

Stop dirty tactics

umno 2009 wanita youth pemuda puteri timetable 230309 Meanwhile, outgoing party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today strongly condemned the use of dirty tactics to defeat Umno candidates in the run up to party elections later this week.

Speaking to reporters in Kuwait City where he is on an official visit, Abdullah called for a stop to the employment of all types of dirty tactics against Umno candidates.

He urged people should stop circulating libellous SMS messages as well as defaming other party leaders, stating that this should not be the way to defeat any candidates in the party elections.

"Those who have become victims of such tactics can report to the police for action to be taken," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

In recent days, apart from Khairy, Wanita Umno chief Rafidah Aziz has also expressed disappointment with the widespread circulation of libellous SMS messages.

Rafidah was reported to have said that the SMS alleged that money politics had taken place, linking her with several of her supporters.