My speech wasn’t about pleading for political support: PM
Ismail Sabri Yaakob claimed that Agenda Daily did not practise responsible journalism in its article alleging he pleaded for support to remain as prime minister.
In a court filing at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, the Bera MP contended it is because his speech at his parliamentary constituency...
Ismail Sabri Yaakob claimed that Agenda Daily did not practise responsible journalism in its article alleging he pleaded for support to remain as prime minister.
In a court filing at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, the Bera MP contended it is because his speech at his parliamentary constituency on Jan 29 was not about pleading for any such backing.
The Umno vice-president is suing the online news portal for defamation over its article “Ismail Sabri bimbang jadi PM paling singkat, ‘rayu’ jangan tarik sokongan.” (Ismail Sabri worries of becoming shortest-lived PM, ‘begs’ for support)
Previously, it was reported that Muhammad Izwan Mohd Zubit - the proprietor of Agenda Daily Media Enterprise which operates the news portal - had in a statement of defence claimed that the website had practised responsible journalism regarding the article.
Following the court issuing an injunction in favour of the plaintiff, the news portal has since taken down the article, pending disposal of the main civil suit.
Misconstrued his speech
Through Ismail Sabri’s reply to the defendant’s statement of defence, he contended that the article had misconstrued his speech at the ceramah at Dewan Konvensyen Majlis Daerah Bera.
The plaintiff expressed the belief that no journalist from Agenda Daily was even present at the event.
Ismail Sabri claimed that the news portal did not contact him for clarification over his speech, but instead wrote the article by referring to reports carried by local newspapers.
“The impugned statements are not true and baseless. The plaintiff has never pleaded with any political party to maintain support.
“The plaintiff believes that the defendant did not attend the ceramah held at the Dewan Konvensyen Majlis Daerah Bera on Jan 29, 2022.
“The defendant failed to contact the plaintiff to obtain confirmation and/or explanation regarding the plaintiff’s statements.
“Instead, the defendant published the impugned article containing defamatory statements against the plaintiff. The defendant took the plaintiff’s speech at the Dewan Konvensyen Majlis Daerah Bera out of context,” Ismail Sabri contended.
The plaintiff also claimed that the article was published out of malice to smear his reputation in the run-up to the Johor state election on March 12.
The civil suit is set for case management before the High Court on April 21.
