PETALING JAYA: PSM’s Dr Michael Jeyakumar filed a defamation suit against a DAP assemblyman after the latter failed to apologise for claiming that the Sungai Siput MP had not fully declared his assets in May.

In a statement, Jeyakumar said he decided to haul Sungkai assemblyman A Sivanesan to court after his demand that the DAP representative retract his statement and apologise fell on deaf ears.

He revealed that on May 23, his lawyer had issued a letter to Sivanesan to retract his statement, which was published in a Tamil daily. However, the DAP politician denied he had tarnished Jeyakumar’s image.

Jeyakumar said he had even reached out to other DAP leaders including the party’s chairman in Perak, Ngeh Koo Ham, national organising secretary Anthony Loke and Johor chairman Liew Chin Tong to intervene in the matter.

“But it was to no avail,” he said.

He said PSM made it compulsory for its members who were either assemblymen, MPs or local council members to declare their assets annually.

To claim that they did not fully declare their assets, he added, was an attempt to deceive the public.

“Sivanesan’s claim has serious implications and this is why I am forced to file a suit against YB Sivanesan,” he said.