A businessman filed suits amounting to RM1.3 billion at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today against nine local dailies, the Home Affairs Ministry Secretary-General Aseh Che Mat and the Malaysian government for defamation stemming from his arrest for allegedly issuing false work permits for foreign workers three years ago.

The plaintiff, Badrul Zaman Md Zakariah, 49, stated in his suits that Aseh, who was then director-general of the Immigration Department, defamed him in statements made during a press conference, which were reported on Feb 25, 1998, by the dailies concerned.

Badrul, then the owner of an employment agency, was reportedly arrested following a raid by the Immigration Department two days before the news came out in the dailies. He claimed that Aseh gave a press conference about the raid during his remand period and before he (Badrul) was officially charged in court.

He claimed that the reports portrayed him as, amongst others, a con man, criminal, untrustworthy, as managing an employment agency that is illegal and giving employment to illegal immigrants.

The dailies named in the suits are The Star, The New Straits Times, The Sun, China Press, Malaysia Nanban, Tamil Nesan, Sin Chew Jit Poh, Nanyang Siang Pau, Utusan Melayu and their managing companies respectively.

In each suit, Badrul is claiming RM50 million in general damages from each individual defendant named, in addition to costs incurred by the action as well as an injunction to stop them from further defaming him.

Badrul added that the defendants had failed to apologise to him.

He also said that since Aseh was in the employment of the government, the government was vicariously responsible for all the actions taken by him.