PETALING JAYA: Caretaker Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is expected to respond to a lawsuit filed by Berjaya Corporation Bhd chairman and founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan, and Berjaya Land Bhd.
Sanusi however said that he has yet to receive the said notice, reported Astro Awani.
“I will respond to the notice when it arrives,“ he said after attending the Grand Finale Sembang Santai With Sanusi at Padang Awam Tunku Putra on Friday (Aug 11).
On Aug 9, Tan and Berjaya Land Berhad filed a defamation suit against Sanusi at the Shah Alam High Court.
The case management has been set on Sep 4.
Tan and Berjaya Land claim that Sanusi had made a speech which was defamatory of them during his “Jelajah Mega PN Best” / “PN BEST Sayangi Kedah Sejahtera mega tour” election campaign on Aug 2 which was broadcast live to the public and republished on multiple social media channels including Astro Awani, Youtube Live Video, Astro Awani Facebook Live Video, TV PAS Facebook Live Video and KiniTV Youtube Video.
This significant legal development comes as a result of Sanusi’s failure to meet the requirements in a letter served on the caretaker Kedah MB on Aug 4 demanding a public apology and compensation of RM200 million over his defamatory and untrue accusations against Tan and Berjaya Land relating to the Selangor Maritime Gateway (“SMG”) project.
They claim that Sanusi’s defamatory statements have depicted them as, amongst others, a corrupt person/company and that they are the cronies of the caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
They further claim that Sanusi’s speech accused them of having directly/indirectly received a 600-acre parcel of free land from the Selangor government and that they have directly/indirectly given benefits to the Selangor MB in exchange for the free land.
Tan and Berjaya Land also claimed that Sanusi’s speech alleged that they had benefitted from the Selangor government through cronyism and nepotism as well as causing the Selangor state and its people to suffer at least RM180 million in losses.
Tan and Berjaya Land are seeking general, compensatory, aggravated, and exemplary damages from Sanusi as well as an injunction to compel him from repeating any and all matters alluding to them contained in his speech.
