KUALA LUMPUR: Anwar Ibrahim has issued a legal notice demanding Muhyiddin Yassin apologise for a claim that the prime minister received RM15 million for his services as the Selangor state government’s economic adviser.
Anwar’s lawyers, SN Nair & Partners, said Muhyiddin’s remarks, which were made during a Perikatan Nasional ceramah in Padang Serai, were defamatory of the prime minister.
The notice said the Bersatu president’s comments, captured in a TikTok video which has garnered more than 1,100,000 views, suggested that Anwar had, among other things, abused his position as a parliamentarian, was a sinner and a liar, as well as a greedy and unethical person.
The notice added that Muhyiddin’s remarks had been denied by the Selangor state government in a media statement published on Facebook and reported by FMT earlier today.
“The media statement and the FMT article clearly and unequivocally affirmed the denial by our client. Despite this, and without taking into account the denial, (you) had acted with full knowledge and/or deliberately and/or negligently to make and/or publish and/or cause the publication and/or republication of the defamatory TikTok video and the defamatory statements,” the letter read.
The lawyers demanded that Muhyiddin retract the video and statements, issue a public apology and undertake not to repeat such words, failing which legal action would follow.
Earlier today, Juwairiya Zulkifli, political secretary to Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari, denied Muhyiddin’s allegation that Anwar was paid RM15 million for his stint as the state’s economic adviser.
Instead, she said, the PKR president only received a token sum of RM1 per year for his services.
She added that Anwar’s RM1 salary had also been recorded in the state assembly’s Hansard.
Anwar was appointed the state’s economic adviser in 2009, when the late Khalid Ibrahim was the Selangor menteri besar, one year after the then Pakatan Rakyat coalition wrested control of the state government following the 12th general election.