PAS vice-president had only one response when asked if he had replied to a letter of demand from boutique investment company ECM Libra Bhd: "I don't want to fight the bull... I would rather fight the bull's master."

In other words, he has no plans to entertain ECM's demands that he should retract his statements which had allegedly defamed company director Khairy Jamaluddin, in relation to the acquisition of RM9.2 million worth of shares.

Instead, he wants to deal directly with Khairy, who is also Umno Youth deputy chief and son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Husam told malaysiakini that he is aware of the consequences of his decision and that he is ready to face these.

"I don't know whether the company is going to make good its threat to sue but I will not bow to its demands. If this leads to the filing of a case against me, then so be it. I am prepared to meet them in court," he said.

ECM Libra in a letter dated Jan 8 gave Husam three days to "mitigate the continuing damage" to its reputation by making a joint statement in open court in agreed terms, publishing a retraction of his statement, proposing damages for compensation and refraining from making similar statements.

Similar demands were sent to Harakahdaily - the online version of PAS' official organ Harakah - which posted Husam's press statement.

Harakahdaily editor Zulkifli Sulong declined to comment whether the website will reply to the letter, adding that the matter would be dealt with by the opposition party. It is expected to make a statement soon.

"We merely posted Husam's press statement. It is up to him to act on the matter. However we are currently seeking legal advice so that we will not be caught by surprise by ECM Libra," Zulkifli said.

Collateral damage

Elaborating on his decision, Husam described the letter of demand as "collateral damage", arising from his quest to take the government and Khairy to task over ECM Libra's purported role in the sale of the national stake in private healthcare provider Pantai Holdings Bhd to Singapore-based firm Parkway Holdings last September.

"I did nothing wrong. Neither did I defame anyone. I merely questioned how Khairy bought the shares and why the government approved the sale of its stake in Pantai to a foreign firm, as this goes against established procedure.

"To date no clarification has been made either by Khairy or the government. What I am stressing is that the government must be transparent on this issue because it raises questions of impropriety. I will continue to push until we get a satisfactory response from them."

He said the absence of response from the government was revealing of its "arrogance", especially when it has been talking about transparency.

"I have no faith in the government... there has been revelation after revelation that it is open to abuse and corruption.

"This is why I have refused to comment on the latest issue involving Metramac, the Cheras toll concessionaire. Call after call has been made to the government to investigate various claims of abuse and excesses, but so far nothing has come of this."

Husam was also of the view that ECM Libra's letter is a threat to silence his criticism.

Asked if he was concerned that a libel suit, if it proceeds, would affect the credibility of his leadership and his party, Husam said that raising issues of public interest comes with risks attached.

"This is a good issue. Anyway, filing a suit is not a guarantee of success. This situation is not new to me...I have been sued three times for alleged libel and won all three cases. I don't know how I will fare this time, but I will come prepared."