Cops to question Isham over call for PM to sue Bloomberg

Putrajaya police have summoned former Umno supreme council member Isham Jalil for questioning this evening in relation to his Facebook post urging Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to sue Bloomberg.

Taking to Facebook, Isham (above) said the authorities contacted him over a post that highlighted online portal MalaysiaNow’s report, based on an original Bloomberg article last month.

“Likely my phone will be confiscated. This will not be the first time. Previously, I got my phone back after nearly two years.

“This evening, I will give my statement. My statement is that I have suggested the prime minister to sue Bloomberg because the (news) report is serious and carries grave implications,” he added.

Last month, Bloomberg released a report citing three unnamed sources who claimed that Anwar had ordered MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki not to investigate his former political secretary Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak over the latter’s purchase of shares in HeiTech Padu Bhd.

The technology services provider is linked to the development of a new immigration system costing RM1 billion.

In March, reports claimed that Farhash allegedly invested nearly RM40 million in HeiTech Padu, after it had been shortlisted for the government contract.

Commenting further, Isham stressed that the reported claims have humiliated the prime minister’s institution, as well as eroded public and investors’ trust in an overall commitment to combat corruption.

“The Bloomberg report can also make it appear that the prime minister’s efforts to combat corruption are mere rhetoric and that he was all talk and no action. If the report is untrue, then it is a serious defamation.

“If the prime minister is too busy to sue Bloomberg, the attorney-general can also act on behalf of the government.

“This is because Bloomberg reported the statements aimed at Anwar in his capacity as prime minister or head of the government,” he said, claiming that actions can be taken under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 as well as the Penal Code.

Risking a perception

In reiterating his challenge to Anwar, Isham argued that failure to act could risk a perception that the prime minister, attorney-general or government will only retaliate against critics from among ordinary citizens or opposition leaders.

“But major companies like Bloomberg that can afford to pay legal fees and hundreds of millions in fines, the government does not dare to bully or act against.

“And in this case, if action is taken against the person who suggested (for Anwar) to sue Bloomberg, and yet Bloomberg gets away, it will reveal something strange,” Isham said.

Other than claiming there were attempts to shield Farhash, Bloomberg also reported Azam as telling MACC officials that Anwar had instructed him to instead launch investigations into former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his three sons, and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.

In response, the Prime Minister’s Office strongly denied the claims.

The anti-graft body also dismissed the allegations, saying, “All enforcement action taken by the commission is done without fear or favour, with no interference from any party, and fair and without prejudice in all situations based on principles of the law.”

Daim and his wife Na’imah Abdul Khalid are facing multiple corruption-linked charges and the latter had, following the release of the Bloomberg article, lodged a police report against Anwar’s alleged abuse of power in the criminal prosecution against the couple.

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