IPOH, Feb 17 — Buntong assemblyman Thulsi Manogaran slammed Perak PAS commissioner’s son Muhammad Ri’faat Razman for claiming that his father only apologised to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to protect the prime minister’s good name and not to admit his defamatory remarks.
Thulsi said Razman Zakaria had made a mockery of integrity and dignity with the revelation despite his settlement with Anwar after being sued for RM5 million, and cautioned against leaders of the Islamist party PAS that are actively disseminating disinformation.
“Ri’faat Razman issued an irresponsible statement claiming that his father only apologised to protect the prime minister’s good name. This is a mockery of integrity and dignity. PAS leaders are void of dignity, principles and responsibility.
“The danger of PAS leaders as politicians in this country is evident as they actively contribute to the global crisis of disinformation, fake news and it is indeed worrying as they disrupt the creation of a healthy information ecosystem,” she said in a statement.
Thulsi also pointed out that this was not the first time Razman had issued an apology statement against politicians.
“The first time was when he issued an apology statement against Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaludin, the second was against Lim Guan Eng and this time, his third apology statement is against Anwar. This shows that he is indeed a habitual liar,” she said.
She also said that habitual liars like Razman are not fit for the political ecosystem of the country and should quit politics.
The DAP rep also said that political differences should never be seen as a weakness but rather as a strength that can help foster Malaysia to be a better place for all via checks and balances.
“I strongly urge the Opposition to harness the energy that they are wasting to do something more useful and shoulder the plight of people. I’m scared in the long run, we will be wasting our time fighting disinformation due to Opposition’s greed.
“I wish we can move forward and have concrete and constructive arguments and solutions to reduce people’s burden. I urge Perikatan Nasional leaders to play their role more professionally instead of working to promote their own agenda for power, greed and corruption,” she said.
Earlier this month, Razman apologised to Anwar for accusing the latter in the 15th general election campaign of supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and being a communist.
The Gunung Semanggol assemblyman made the apology in an open court before Judicial Commissioner Puan Noor Rowena Md Nurdin during the defamation suit hearing at the High Court in Taiping.
Razman also stressed that he would never repeat such defamation speech of any form or manner in the future against Anwar and requested the latter to withdraw the suit.
Anwar subsequently withdrew his suit.
