BAGAN DATUK: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will take legal action against Raja Petra Kamaruddin who had accused him of receiving kickbacks amounting to millions of ringgit connected to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project.
The Barisan National (BN) chairman said that the fugitive blogger should face the music as this was not the first time he had made such a baseless statement.
"I hope Raja Petra, before making any accusation, will come out with proof and documents to support his allegation.
"If not, I will sue him for defamation (saman malu) and I will ask my lawyers to take legal action against him," he said in a press conference at his home here, today.
It was reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is looking forward to meeting a "whistleblower" over allegations that Zahid had received RM66 million in kickbacks to procure the LCS project.
Raja Petra, in a six-minute video clip, claimed to have substantial evidence of the transactions made to Zahid between 2012 and 2013.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, in a reply to the New Straits Times on Wednesday, said the agency was willing to meet Raja Petra at his preferred location outside the country to obtain information and documents related to the claim.
Zahid added that Raja Petra's writings were mostly based on his opinion and assumptions.
"I know him but he must face the music over his allegation against me. His claims have no credibility," he added.
Raja Petra had also claimed that the large transactions had not been recorded by the moneychangers and had gone through at least five layers before they reached Zahid.
This, he said, was mainly to avoid the money from being traced back to its source.
In August, the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee findings revealed that there were discrepancies and delays in the RM9 billion LCS project since 2017.
On Oct 2, the caretaker Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that the ministry was in the midst of removing middlemen involved in the LCS project to reduce the cost of the vessels.
Hishammuddin said the termination would enable Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNSSB) to negotiate directly with local vendors and original equipment manufacturers.