Former deputy Army chief Lt-Gen (Rtd) Ghafir Abdul Hamid wants Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia and its publisher Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd to apologise to him and pay RM20 million for defamation.

NONE Ghafir's lawyers have sent a letter of demand on this to Utusan 's group editor-in chief Abdul Aziz Ishak, journalist, Raja Shahrir Abu Bakar and publisher Utusan Melayu yesterday.

The action follows Utusan 's publication of a malicious online article quoting him as ridiculing the army in the handling of the Sulu terrorists in Lahad Datu, which the former top army officer claimed was false, malicious and defamatory to him.

Ghafir, who openly backs PKR as well as Pakatan Rakyat, said the article was written to discredit him and injure his reputation as a public figure and has brought him into public scandal, odium and contempt, his lawyer Samarudin Md Rejab said.

"Our client views the allegation very seriously as it amounts to a blatant attempt to defame him and to mislead the public on a matter of national security," Samarudin said.

Ghafir is seeking for:

  • Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd, Abdul Aziz and Raja Shahrir to place on the Utusan Online site a full withdrawal and apology;
  • the apology to be given prominence in Utusan Online as well as in Utusan Malaysia ; and
  • Utusan Melayu, Abdul Aziz and Raja Shahrir to give Ghafir their undertaking not to further publish this or any similar article and news report about him.

Ghafir had earlier said that the statement he made at a forum at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on March 18 had been misquoted by Utusan .

"What I had said was on the failure of the army to gather proper intelligence, resulting in the army having to find the enemy beside houses and chicken coups.

"I touched on the failure of the intelligence gathering, but Utusan spun what I said," added Ghafir, who said he would sue Utusan for this.