PETALING JAYA: Bersama leader Rafizi Ramli is planning to sue R Ramanan over allegations the PKR vice-president made about him at a recent press conference.
Rafizi said in a statement today that Ramanan, the human resources minister, made various allegations against him, including accusing him of involvement in corruption.
"I have discussed the matter with my legal team. They believe there are strong grounds to bring a lawsuit against Ramanan, as his statements at the press conference crossed the boundaries set by the country’s defamation laws.
"I have therefore instructed my lawyers to begin legal proceedings against Ramanan," he said.
Rafizi said he had given the video and transcript of the press conference to his lawyers, and that legal action was appropriate as Ramanan "continues to evade answering several allegations" concerning corruption.
"If Ramanan refuses to sue me, his press conference yesterday has now opened the way for me to take him to court over the allegations he made against me," he said.
Ramanan told reporters at a human resources ministry staff event that he would not sue Rafizi over the former Pandan MP’s claim in a podcast that a PKR MP had received RM9.5 million to act as an intermediary in disputes involving an alleged corporate mafia.
He said Rafizi should file a report with the authorities if he had credible evidence, and that a lawsuit would burden the public if Rafizi raised donations to cover his legal costs.
At the same event, Ramanan reportedly called Rafizi "a serial liar" and described the latter’s focus on other issues as "political distraction 101".
He also referred to allegations by others that Rafizi had received RM500,000 in bribes linked to Datasonic, as well as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s probe into the government’s deal with Arm Holdings.
The dispute arose after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim dismissed Rafizi’s allegation in the Dewan Rakyat, where lawmakers had raised the claim.
Although Anwar, the PKR president, did not name the MP, Ramanan had previously denied accusations that he was the PKR MP in question.