KUALA LUMPUR – The Green Party’s secretary-general, Abdul Razak Ismail, has indicated that he should not be held responsible for comments made by others that attack parties not connected to his original statements.
Speaking to Scoop, Razak, who retracted his statements regarding the Shah Alam Sports Complex on October 22 in an effort to settle a defamation suit brought by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), sought to distance himself from Australian blogger Murray Hunter, who utilised the former’s posts to involve the Selangor Palace in the matter.
Razak said he does not know Hunter, who is currently being sought by local police with Interpol’s assistance, noting that his comments on social media can be accessed publicly and that anyone can use his statements for their own narratives and purpose.
“There are people who picked up my social media postings and shared them on Whatsapp groups.
“Anyone can pick up my uploads because there’s a free flow of information (on the internet),” Abdul Razak said when contacted.
Razak who had read out a retraction and expressed regret in open court on Tuesday, was asked if he should also express the same to the Palace which was unfairly drawn into the issue because of his statements.
Razak explained that his statements related to the Shah Alam sports complex targeted the Selangor state government and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shaari, and barely referred to MRCB.
“I want to say to clear any misunderstandings, I don’t know him (Hunter).
“Perhaps he was interested in the sports complex issue and he used my statements,” Razak said.
On June 1 last year, MRCB filed a lawsuit against Razak in the Shah Alam High Court, alleging that his statements made between March and June 2023 were defamatory.
While Razak initially maintained that his comments were aimed at the state government, MRCB argued he had specifically named the company.
It is believed that these statements by Razak formed the basis of an article by Hunter published in January this year which dragged the Selangor Royal House into the issue.
On October 22, Razak and MRCB reached a settlement, which required him to read a letter of regret in court. In this letter, he retracted press releases from March and April 2023, as well as statements made on his Facebook account. – October 24, 2024