Muhyiddin sends letter of demand to Anwar over defamatory claims on Felda loan waiver

SHAH ALAM - Perikatan Nasional (PN) Chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has issued a letter of demand (LOD) to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim over the latter's claim that the PN administration did not write off RM8.3 billion in loans granted to Felda settlers when it was in power.

The LOD, which was prepared by Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership and dated July 18, 2023 (Tuesday), was sent to Anwar's two addresses: his residence in Kajang, Selangor, and the Prime Minister's Office, Putrajaya.

The former prime minister is demanding the Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader retract his statement within 24 hours and issue an apology, or he will be sued.

Through its legal documents, the firm stated that Anwar, also the Finance Minister, had allegedly made defamatory statements to defame, bring down, and/or damage the reputation of the Pagoh Member of Parliament.

"Datuk Seri Anwar's entire speech at the 2023 Felda Settlers Day celebration was published live via 'Facebook Live' on his Facebook account that uses the name, Anwar Ibrahim. It has been circulated and widely shared by the mass media and social media. As of July 18, 2023, the post had been viewed over 63,900 times.

"Although he is aware of our client's (Muhyiddin's) clarification on July 8, 2023, Datuk Seri Anwar still continues to defame our client at a dialogue session at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)," it said in the document.

The firm added that Muhyiddin is also demanding that the Pakatan Harapan chairman furnish the document he had purportedly signed to approve the loan waiver within 24 hours, in addition to deleting the Facebook post from his Facebook page and other platforms.

Muhyiddin also seeks that Anwar issue a written undertaking not to repeat the allegation, in addition to a settlement agreed upon by the Pagoh Member of Parliament.

"If Datuk Seri fails to comply with the demands within the period stated above, we are instructed to initiate a legal action against Datuk Seri, including, but not limited to, claiming damages and injunctive relief without further notice," it said in the document.

Previously, Sinar Harian reported that Anwar had said that the move by the Muhyiddin administration to write off the loans granted to Felda settlers had not materialised.

As the Finance Minister, Anwar said he had just signed the loan waiver in late June.