KUALA LUMPUR: FashionValet and The dUCk Group co-founder Datin Vivy Sofinas Yusof has sued a netizen over alleged defamatory statements that she had disputed the government's efforts to help ease the financial burden of the B40 and M40 groups affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the suit, Vivy, or better known as Vivy Yusof, had named 28-year old Alia Najwa Hassannudin as the defendant.
According to the statement of claim sighted by the media through an e-filing online file search, the social media savvy entrepreneur said on March 28, that she published a video on her Instagram account on a conversation between four entrepreneurs including Datuk Seri Raymond Liew.
The video was about the Malaysian economy during the pandemic, as well as the economic stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
She claimed that on March 30, the defendant had wrongly accused her of questioning the government's initiative in providing aid to the B40 and M40 groups when they were making no contributions to the country.
This, Vivy claimed, was never uttered by her since she was only the spectator of the video and that Liew had never mentioned the B40 and M40 groups in the video.
The alleged defamatory statements were published on the defendants' Facebook page and Instagram account.
The statements, in their ordinary meaning or by way of innuendo, she claimed, had meant that she had insulted and belittled the two groups and that she was not sympathetic and did not care about those who were affected by Covid-19.
She also claimed that statements posted by the defendant were made with malicious intent and that it has been circulating on social media.
Among others, Vivy said her personal and professional reputation as a University Teknologi Mara (UiTM) board of director member was badly affected and subsequently she was insulted, attacked, lashed out at and condemned on social media due to the posting of the statement by the defendant.
She claimed that a petition to remove her as the university's board member was launched and 230,000 internet users had signed the petition since it was launched around April 1.
The fashion icon also claimed that on April 2, a letter of demand was issued to the defendant and the latter was demanded to stop publishing any defamatory statements against her on social media.
The defendant had replied to the letter, but however, failed to comply with her demands, Vivy further claimed.
Therefore, Vivy is seeking for general, aggravated and exemplary damages as well as an order for the defendant to take down the defamatory statements and an apology from the defendant.
The suit, which was filed on June 15, has been fixed for case management on Oct 7 before High Court judge Datin Rohani Ismail.