Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown said the letter of demand served on her from PAS is a political gesture.

The letter, which was served on her at her London address on Tuesday, is reportedly over her claim that the Islamic party purportedly received RM90 million from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"I note that PAS has paid a law firm to send a letter, which has no legal validity, and then immediately indulged in posturing in the media on the basis of that letter and in advance of their own deadline for a reply.

"I regard their actions to be a political gesture and an abuse of the protocol they seek to exploit," Rewcastle-Brown told Malaysiakini in an email last night.

She also said that no court proceedings have been initiated.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said yesterday that their Letter of Claim Pursuant to the Pre-Action Protocol for Defamation contained three demands against Sarawak Report.

It demanded that Sarawak Report removes the article alleging PAS received RM90 million from the Malaysian prime minister and to issue an apology according to the terms agreed by PAS.

It also asked the whistleblower site to give an undertaking not to publish similar claims in future.

Sarawak Report, in an Aug 6 article, claimed RM90 million was "widely reckoned" to have flowed into the top echelons of PAS.

PAS has vehemently denied the claim and vowed to initiate legal action against Rewcastle-Brown in UK, where she is based.