Court: Remove statements linking ex-govt leader to human trafficking

The Shah Alam High Court ordered the removal of allegedly slanderous statements linking former deputy minister Mashitah Ibrahim to human trafficking in Myanmar.

The order given today was to the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) and two other individuals.

Lawyer Akberdin Abdul Kadir, representing Mashitah, 60, said judicial commissioner Jamhirah Ali made the order after allowing an application for an interim injunction filed by the former Baling MP in an online proceeding today.

“Therefore, the three defendants have to remove the statements immediately and not repeat those words until an inter-parte decision (both parties) is made by the court,” said the lawyer.

He said the court set Nov 18 for further case management.

Mashitah (above) filed the suit on Sept 9. She named MHO chairperson Hishamuddin Hashim, 45, MHO committee member Azirul Syafiq Sazali, 29, and the organisation as the first to third defendants.

In her statement of claim, she alleged that Hishamuddin, via his Facebook account, uploaded video clips of a media statement with the caption “Sidang Media Berkaitan Aduan Penglibatan Ahli Politik Malaysia Di Dalam Sindiket Pemerdagangan Manusia Berpusat Di Myanmar” (press conference regarding a complaint of a Malaysian politician’s involvement in a Myanmar-based human trafficking syndicate) made by the three defendants on a Facebook account of one ‘Hishamuddin Hashim’ on Aug 28, which contained defamatory statements against the plaintiff.

She further claimed that on the same day (Aug 28), Azirul Syafiq and MHO posted a written media statement, prepared by Hishamuddin and dated Aug 26, on MHO’s Facebook account and Azirul Syafiq’s TikTok account.

The statement also allegedly contained defamatory remarks.

Mashitah said the following day (Aug 29), Hishamuddin uploaded an edited video clip with the caption “Sidang Media berkenaan penglibatan bekas Timbalan Menteri dengan syarikat Dongmei Group yang merupakan antara sindiket pemerdagangan manusia & scam paling besar di Myawaddy Myanmar”.

(Press conference regarding the involvement of a deputy minister with the Dongmei Group which is among the largest scam and human trafficking syndicates in Myawaddy, Myanmar)

She claimed that pictures of her, with the face blurred, were shown in the video.

Mashitah also claimed that Hishamuddin and MHO uploaded slanderous remarks in a Facebook post belonging to the two defendants on Sept 3.

The plaintiff claimed that the defamatory statements implied that she and her husband, Abdul Shakor Abu Bakar, were directly involved with Dongmei Group, a company allegedly engaged in human trafficking, gambling, and drug-related criminal activities in Myanmar and internationally.

She also claimed the defamatory statements had adversely affected her reputation and status as a public figure, senior politician, and businessperson.

- Bernama

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