KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari did not display any sign of stress or shame after he was linked to a scandal involving the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) project.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said the PKR vice-president instead became increasingly aggressive in criticising him after he made the revelation during a speech in Kedah two months ago.
The outspoken Pas lawmaker said this in his statement of defence to dismiss Amirudin's defamation suit filed against him in August this year.
Amirudin filed the suit following Sanusi's speech on Aug 2 at the PN Best Mega Tour "Sayangi Kedah Sejahtera" which made allegations about the scandal between Amirudin and tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan who wanted to implement a project worth RM10 billion in Sungai Klang.
Sanusi said he had no malicious intent, deception or hatred towards Amirudin when making the impugned statement, stating that he used freedom of speech to raise governance and transparency issues based on substantiated facts.
"The plaintiff (Amirudin) also hurled numerous defamatory statements about the defendant (Sanusi) during the verbal exchanges leading up to the six state elections.
"The defendant's action only aimed to highlight governance issues related to the plaintiff's administration based on substantiated facts.
"It was not driven by malicious intent," he said.
Sanusi said as a politician, Amirudin was frequently the target of numerous criticisms and insults from the public.
"The defendant's speech did not in any way harm the plaintiff's reputation more than what had been expressed by the public.
"Amirudin has sufficient political space and media coverage to respond to any issues raised.
"He (Amirudin) still won the Selangor state election, albeit with a reduced majority," he added.
In the writ of summons, Amirudin demanded unspecified general, severe and exemplary damages from the defendant, as well as an injunction to prevent the Pas leader from repeating the allegations.
He said the defamatory statement was uttered by the defendant to lower the plaintiff's reputation in the eyes of the public or expose him to hatred, insult and ridicule which was triggered by malicious intent.
Meanwhile, Tan who is Berjaya Corporation Bhd founder and advisor also filed a separate defamation suit against Sanusi on Aug 8, claiming that the impugned statements would harm and result in financial losses for 67,367 shareholders of the company and 7,053 shareholders of Berjaya Land Berhad.
He also contended that the impugned statements had the potential to damage his reputation in the business world, both domestically and internationally.
He is seeking general, compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages from the defendant.
In the speech, Sanusi who is also the PN election director reportedly claimed that the founder of Berjaya Group, Vincent Tan wanted to conduct a river project worth RM10 billion by obtaining 600 acres of land in the state.
Sanusi accused the involvement of a company owned by the Selangor Menteri Besar (Incorporation) for the project in the Klang River which he claimed caused the Selangor government to lose about RM180 million.