KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — Former Umno Youth executive council member Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris told the High Court here today that the suit filed against him by former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his son, Clint Lim Way Chau, was a form of political persecution.

He said the lawsuit, over the allegation that he spread the news about Way Chau bringing in RM2 million into Singapore without proper declaration, is a matter involving political party disputes.

"I did not issue defamatory statements against the plaintiffs (Guan Eng and Way Chau) at all. The ‘Papa Azri’ Facebook page is not my personal Facebook page, but a ‘fanpage’ page where anyone can have access to it,” he said when questioned by his lawyer, Logen Eskandar Abdullah.

According to Wan Muhammad Azri, there is no audio or video evidence to prove that the statement was issued by him.

He said the alleged defamatory statement was not dated and its content was broad, not specific and did not show any clear context that it referred to Guan Eng and Way Chau.

Questioned lawyer Simon Murali, representing the plaintiffs, Wan Muhammad Azri denied that he was a blogger with the pen name ‘Papagomo’.

"I am not a blogger. In a news article, it stated that I’m a blogger, but it’s not my statement,” said Wan Muhammad Azri, who is self-employed.

The father and son filed the suit in 2021, claiming that Wan Muhammad Azri had posted on his Facebook page a purported defamatory statement, alleging that the second plaintiff (Way Chau) was hauled up at the Singapore Changi Airport on Feb 29, 2020, for bringing in RM2 million in cash, without proper declaration.

According to Guan Eng, Wan Muhammad Azri, who posted on Facebook under the name ‘Papa Azri’, on March 14, 2020, claimed that he (Guan Eng) went to Singapore on Feb 29 of the same year, after his son was arrested at Changi Airport.

The hearing before Judicial Commissioner Eddie Yeo Soon Chye continues on Dec 11. — Bernama