KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Caretaker deputy defence minister Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz today said that he has sent PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli a cease-and-desist letter in relation to statements made by the latter on social media.

The notice requires Rafizi to delete all defamatory statements made towards Ikmal Hisham and his wife, to stop spreading and repeating defamatory statements towards the pair, to publish a public apology and pay general and exemplary damages of RM500,000 to clear the reputations of the pair that have been smeared, said the incumbent Bersatu MP for Tanah Merah in a statement.

"Should he fail to fulfill these demands in seven days, my side will continue this case with a civil action in court,” he said.

This course of action was taken to protect his own good name and as part of his responsibility to ensure the safety of his family, he said.

He added that he believes Rafizi’s actions stem from an awareness that support for Perikatan Nasional (PN), of which Bersatu is a key coalition member, has been increasing, which has resulted in efforts to smear the latter’s political rivals.

Rafizi has no other strategies than to spread defamatory statements at this critical time before polling day of the 15th general elections (GE15), he said.

He also commented on the raid by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Rafizi’s company Invoke Solutions Sdn Bhd, saying that if the former Pandan MP were truly innocent he would cooperate fully with investigations instead of questioning them.

In his statement, Ikmal Hisham repeated his innocence in the matter of the procurement of Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH), saying that the procurement of assets by the Ministry of Defence goes through a stringent process which includes prior approval by the end-user, such as the Malaysian Army, the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

He also said that he had previously lodged a police report against Rafizi over the issue on October 7.

On October 8, when asked about the police report Ikmal Hisham had made against him, Rafizi replied, "It’s OK”.

Rafizi said documents and allegations regarding the company MA Analytics Sdn Bhd and questions surrounding its alleged connection to the deputy minister and his family had been circulating for the past few months.

"The documents have been going around, it’s just that nobody picked it up. So the fact that suddenly he decided to lodge a police report against me when this allegation has circled for the last six, seven months, that means it hits bull’s eye. So it is OK, there are enough evidence document-wise to link and as I say, it’s almost common knowledge,” he said calmly.