At a press conference on the sidelines of the PAS muktamar here today, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the suit was filed on April 21 at the London High Court.
This comes months after Sarawak Report ran an article in which it claimed RM90 million was “reckoned” to have entered the accounts of top PAS leaders to woo them into supporting Umno and Barisan Nasional.
Takiyuddin said PAS was seeking “substantial” damages but declined to reveal the exact amount. He said the party was also seeking an injunction against the article, titled “As Najib Denies All Over 1MDB, Let’s Not Forget His Many Other Criminal Connections – COMMENT”.
Takiyuddin said the article could imply that Hadi had personally received a huge bribe from Prime Minister Najib Razak in exchange for PAS compromising on its political stand.
“These allegations are completely untrue.
“Allegations of corruption like this clearly damage the reputation of the PAS president, who has shown commitment to the democratic process for a long time where his political philosophy and actions clearly reflect that he holds true to Islamic principles and teachings.”
Takiyuddin said PAS’ lawyer in London, Carter-Ruck, had sent a letter of complaint to Rewcastle-Brown at the end of last year, seeking an apology and the removal of the article.
“But she has failed to respond and has instead made several public statements which have further complicated the issue.”
Takiyuddin said Hadi had no choice but to initiate legal action due to the severity of the claims, which, he said, had damaged Hadi’s reputation.
Earlier today, it was reported that PAS had set up a special fund to collect money at the ongoing muktamar for the “costly” legal expenses of the suit.
PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the legal costs amounted to RM200,000, and that the amount was expected to be collected within the next few days.
Before this, PAS said its delay in initiating legal action was due to its effort to gather witnesses for the case.