In another case over freedom of the press and speech, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) has initiated contempt proceeding against Selangor government lawyer Fahda Nur Ahmad Kamar and Harakah chief editor Ahmad Lutfi Othman.

NONE This is over what Fahda ( left in picture ), who is Balik Pulau MP Mohd Yusmadi Yusoff’s ( right in picture ) wife, had apparently delivered during a speech to 30 religious teachers over what has been reported to be in the public domain regarding the problems of the privatisation of the water utility company, and this had been picked up by Harakah.

This led to the publication of the article ‘ SAR bantu kempen bantah kenaikan tariff air ’ (Religious schools help in campaign against a hike in tariff rate) dated Dec 7, 2010.

The words which Syabas complained about which were allegedly said by Fahda were: “It is impossible for the water supply company to have incurred losses and substantial debt as water is a basic need for human life, and that she expressed reservations that Syabas could pay its debt as of 2005 amounting to RM2.9 billion”.

Syabas had filed an originating summons against the Selangor government last year, and Fahda is representing the state.

Counsel: Harakah can influence judge

Lawyer for Syabas Max Yong, in his submissions, said Fahda had gone overboard with her statement when this case is still pending in court.

“Syabas is worried that such a statement which appeared in Harakah will influence the judge’s judgment in the originating summons,” he said.

“Such statements have resulted in embellishment, of going a step further in the trial.”

Yong said Fahda and Harakah had pre-judged the issue before the court.

The Syabas originating summons against Selangor is still in the initial stage and has yet to go through trial.

When presiding Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Justice Mohd Ariff Mohd Yusof asked Yong to what extent the trial judge in the Commercial Court could be influenced by such statements, Yong replied that the lawyer had gone out of bounds in making such statements.

Previously, Syabas had also taken legal action against the Selangor government and filed a defamation suit against Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua.

'Professional judge can't be influenced'

Fahda’s counsel Tommy Thomas told the court that his client had made the statement during a closed-door meeting and she was unaware of the presence of reporters.

"Furthermore, such similar statements have already been on the Internet even as early in 2007 but no action was taken by Syabas against (the authors). So why take such action against my client?" he asked.

Among others, Thomas cites authors such as Sakmongkol AK47, the pen name for former Pulau Manis assemblyperson and Umno member Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz, who had written such articles.

Thomas also argued that the Malaysian legal system was not in danger of contempt because Malaysia does not adopt a jury system.

"However, Malaysia’s (system has) a professional judge and there must be proof shown that he would be influenced by what he reads in newspapers," he said.

Thomas also submitted the contempt proceeding against Fahda is directed as an intimidation tactic and was to remove her from representing the Selangor government.

Justice Ariff later asked how one would draw the line in view of the latest developments in communication technology, to which Thomas replied that a Federal Court judgment in the case of Nordin Salleh ruled that the court will not limit the fundamental liberties of a person.

Thomas argued that Fahda was merely expressing her freedom of speech and her right to assembly to speak on issues of public interest, and thus should not be challenged.

He said that views similar to what Fahda expressed had also been voiced out by 150,000 signatories to a petition for the King to step in on the impasse between the state and federal government over the water restructuring exercise.

'Harakah is for PAS members only'

Meanwhile, Lawyer Mohd Hanipa Maidin, who appeared for Ahmad Lutfi, adopted Thomas’s submission but added that Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad had written extensively on the failure of the water privatisation exercises before, but Syabas had not acted.

"However, there was no action taken by the company against what had been written. Furthermore, Harakah is a publication strictly for PAS members and it is not widely circulated as other papers," he said.

Hanipa also pointed out that Harakah had repeatedly reported on the topic and had also revealed that Syabas chief executive officer Rozali Ismail earns a salary of RM450,000 a month.

If this was disputed, he said action could be taken.

Hanipa pleaded qualified privilege and fair comment for the defence as the water issue had been extensively been reported.

Justice Ariff wanted both parties to further their research and cite recent cases of contempt in relation to new developments such as the Internet and widespread availability of information.

He fixed June 29 to deliver his verdict.