Datuk Zaid Ibrahim percaya Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang diperalatkan oleh mereka yang mendakwa sebagai “kawan” dalam samannya terhadap pengarang Sarawak Report, Clare Rewcastle-Brown di United Kingdom.
Bekas menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri itu berkata kemungkinan “kawan” presiden PAS itu akan meningggalkannya selepas pilihan raya umum, yang perlu diadakan menjelang pertengahan tahun 2018.
“Walaupun saya tidak pernah suka Hadi, terutama politiknya, saya kasihan kepadanya,” kata Zaid.
Menurutnya, mereka yang mahu menghancurkan Clare dan bekas presiden Majlis Peguam, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan mungkin tidak lagi berminat dengan kes itu selepas pilihan raya.
“Saya tidak mahu mereka yang mempergunakan beliau untuk mengabaikannya dan tidak menyelesaikan yuran peguam selepas kes itu selesai, iaitu seawalnya pada akhir 2018,” kata Zaid merujuk kes yang kini dibawa ke mahkamah di London.
Pada 21 April lalu, Hadi memfailkan saman fitnah di Mahkamah Tinggi London terhadap Clare, berhubung artikel Sarawak Report pada 6 Ogos 2016, yang mendakwa RM90 juta dimasukkan ke akaun pemimpin atasan PAS sebagai usaha Presiden Umno, Datuk Seri Najib Razak “menarik” kepimpinan parti Islam itu menyokong Barisan Nasional.
Baru-baru ini, Clare dalam tuntutan balas terhadap saman Hadi itu mendakwa beliau dan Ambiga ada bercakap mengenai Najib, 1MDB dan PAS pada Julai 2016.
“Ambiga memberitahu defendan sumbernya yang dikatakan boleh dipercayai, menganggarkan jumlah yang dibayar itu sekitar RM90 juta,” kata Clare dalam afidavitnya bertarikh 11 Oktober lalu.
Clare dalam pembelaannya turut menyenaraikan sekurang-kurangnya 10 pegawai PAS dari kumpulan ulama yang didakwa menerima wang daripada dana disyaki 1MDB.
Kos sehingga RM3,300 sejam
Zaid berkata kes saman itu akan berpanjangan dan boleh menelan kos tinggi sehingga RM10 juta.
“Apakah PAS sudah dapat mengumpul £2 juta daripada ahlinya untuk membayar firma peguam Carter-Ruck?” soalnya, merujuk peguam PAS.
Menurutnya, beliau diberitahu firma tersebut antara paling mahal, pada kadar sekitar £600 (RM3,326) sejam.
Zaid, yang kini menganggotai DAP, berkata sekiranya isu sebenar ialah mengenai reputasi Hadi, saman tersebut sepatutnya difailkan di Malaysia, di mana beliau lebih dikenali berbanding di UK.
“Sebab itu, bagi saya, bukan reputasi Hadi yang ‘kawan-kawan’ itu mahu pertahan. Ada perkara lain dalam fikiran mereka.
“Saya berpendapat saman itu difailkan di London demi modal politik untuk memburukkan Clare dan pembangkang. Reputasi Hadi tidak penting bagi golongan ini,” kata Zaid.
Zaid menasihatkan Hadi membatalkan samannya sementara kos guaman masih rendah pada peringkat ini.
“Lagi pun, Clare tidak pernah menuduh Hadi mengambil wang itu, dan Hadi tidak perlu melihatnya sebagai penghinaan terhadap dirinya sekiranya pemimpin lain yang menerima wang itu,” kata Zaid, sambil menambah kes yang berpanjangan akan hanya memudaratkan kesihatan Hadi. - fmt
Politics and the courts...
The courts are not the place to settle political battles. Combat in courtrooms does nothing for the protagonists; it’s also expensive and slow moving. At the end of it all, the process does not redeem any of the participants—not even the winner. Your election chances do not improve one iota. The truth is that if you resort to using the police to prosecute your opponent, then you are just a bully. You don’t get extra votes for that.
Let’s look at the case of the fine young lady who was prosecuted for throwing yellow balloons in the presence of the Prime Minister. He must have felt insulted for the prosecution to initiate such an action against her. In the first place, a public display of protest, dissent or disapproval of political leaders is common in today’s politics. A hardened political leader should be able to withstand harassment, insult and harsh words.
Why go into politics or public life if you are unable to take such personal attacks in your stride? Be a country gentleman instead, and savour your riches. Drive your Bentley to a nearby golf resort, or better yet, take your lovely wife to Tahiti or the Cayman Islands in a superyacht for good measure. But stay away from politics.
Another “tragic” case is that of PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang vs Clare Rewcastle Brown, now being waged in the London courts. Zaid Ibrahim believes PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang is being used by “friends” in his suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown. The former minister speculated that these “friends” could likely leave Hadi in the lurch after the next general election, which needs to be called by June next year.
The case is going to be lengthy and expensive. Has PAS somehow managed to raise £2 million pounds from its members to pay the law firm of Carter-Ruck? My friends have told me that Carter-Ruck is probably the most expensive law firm for defamation work, with charge rates of around £600 pounds per hour, equivalent to about RM3,300 per hour.
Hadi must have been told that he will need a lot of money for this case, but perhaps someone wealthy has agreed to underwrite the cost. If there is no wealthy benefactor, will PAS members and the party agree to give a written undertaking to Hadi that they will pay for the fees and cost of the trial? I don’t believe PAS has that kind of money. At the very least, they will not after GE14.
Although I never liked Hadi, especially his brand of politics, I feel sorry for him now. I don’t want those who are “using” him to leave him in the lurch and not pay the lawyers’ fees once the case is settled, which will be the end of 2018 at the earliest. Those who are keen to destroy Clare and Ambiga (and whoever else they have in mind) may not be interested in the case after March 2018.
If the issue of Hadi’s “reputation” really was at stake, why sue Clare in London in the first place, where not many people know of him? The suit should have been instituted here in Malaysia, where millions know him. That’s why I think it’s not Hadi’s reputation that they are seeking to protect. They have something else in mind.
I think the suit is being done in London to make political capital out of discrediting Clare and the Opposition. Hadi’s reputation is not important to these people. He must remember that he alone has to carry the burden long after GE14. His “friends” who are pushing for him to sue might just leave him all alone, probably penniless, after they have used him for the election.
That will be an unfair and painful experience for him and his family. His health is already not good. It would be better if he were to just withdraw the case while it’s still not that costly at this stage. After all, Clare never said he took any money, and Hadi should not take it as a personal insult if other leaders did. The price for him to engage in this legal battle is just too high and totally disproportionate to the damage he perceives to have been done to his name.- Zaid Ibrahim
Top BN leaders get thumbs down
in Chinese daily poll...
More than 63% of readers of a Chinese daily do not want any of the most senior Umno leaders in the Najib administration to lead the country, even as the ruling coalition prepares for the next general election.
Offered a choice of Prime Minister Najib Razak and Cabinet ministers Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Khairy Jamaluddin and Hishammuddin Hussein as “the best Barisan Nasional leader to lead the country, 63.61% of respondents picked "None of the above", in Oriental Daily’s poll of 15,000 readers.
On the other end of the political spectrum, jailed Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim garnered the most votes for the best prime minister candidate among opposition leaders.
Almost all of the poll’s respondents hope for a change of government in the 14th general election which is expected to be called before August 2018.
BN and PH are the two main political coalitions vying for federal power in GE14. Islamist party PAS is leading a pact of smaller parties called Gagasan Sejahtera Rakyat but they were not featured in the survey.
The poll was published in today’s edition of the Oriental Daily and featured three questions of best BN candidate for PM, best PH candidate for PM, and hoped-for results in GE14.
Hishammuddin, who is defence minister, garnered the most votes at 19.69% for best BN candidate for PM.
Youth and sports minister Khairy is the second most popular choice at 12.15%, followed by prime minister Najib at 3.8%. Less than 1% voted for his deputy, Zahid, who scored 0.74%.
About 63.6% of readers chose “None of the above”.
In PH, the top three choices for PM are Anwar at 38.98%, followed by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng (19.74%) and PKR deputy president Mohd Azmin Ali (10.42%).
Bersatu chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad received 8.75% of votes, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (6.26%) and Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin (1.5%). Only 14.36% ticked "None of the above".
Many of the respondents also singled out PKR vice-presidents Rafizi Ramli and Nurul Izzah Anwar, who were not among the names listed in the poll, to be their choice of leader of Malaysia.
A 84.15% majority of readers hope for a change of government in the next general election, 6.47% are happy with the status quo, and 4.09% are rooting for BN to win with a two-thirds majority. A little over 5% have no opinion. – malaysianinsight
Pulau Pinang Bangkit...
Parti Dr.M bakal diharamkan...
Ada orang lupa.Selangor Pakatan punya.
Sampai ke sudah pun takkan balik ke BN ha3x...
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