Follow-up on Mutalib Case

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FOLLOW-UP ON MUTALIB CASE:

RM 10M Suit Filed Against Azmi For Defamation
Arfa'eza A Aziz, Sep 15, 05 8:34pm

A deported Malaysian Permanent Resident (PR) today filed a RM10 million defamation suit against Home Minister Azmi Khalid for calling him a ‘criminal and traitor’.

Home Minister Azmi Khalid

The suit was filed by Romita Hasibuan, the wife of the Indonesian deportee Abdul Mutalib Taib. It claimed that Azmi had made the defamatory remarks in public at the Parliament lobby on July 12, 2005.

The suit named both Abdul Mutalib and his wife as plaintiffs.

Claiming that Azmi’s statements were false and untrue, the couple said he made the remarks with the intention to injure the reputation of Abdul Mutalib and his family as well as to ‘cut him off from society’ and ‘expose him to hatred, contempt and ridicule’.

They added that the remarks could lead to their children being ostracised from society.

Apart from monetary damages, the couple are also seeking, among others, a public apology from the minister. Also named as defendants are the Home Ministry and Malaysian government.

Injunction sought

The couple are also seeking a declaration that an Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee cannot be considered a serious criminal as well as injunction to stop Azmi from making similar statements.

Abdul Mutalib (left) was deported to Indonesia on April 29 after his PR status was revoked by the government.

He was arrested while applying for his eldest son’s identity card at the National Registration Department (NRD) in Sepang.

While being detained at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport immigration depot, the father of four was shown several orders, declarations and notices pertaining to the alleged revocation of his PR status in 1996.

Meanwhile, in their statement of claim, the couple stated that on July 12, Azmi made the following remarks to Romita and their children: “Suami awak...bapa anak awak adalah...penjenayah besar, penderhaka besar, bawalah anak kamu ke Indonesia..bapa awak penjenayah besar...bapa awak...penderhaka besar...”

(Your husband...the father of your children is...a big criminal, a traitor, take your children back to Indonesia...your father is a big criminal...your father ...a big traitor)

The minister had allegedly uttered these words when Romita sought his help.

The couple claimed that the words suggested that Abdul Mutalib had:

committed a serious crime, charged, tried and convicted for the crimes in the court of law.
is a traitor and had betrayed Malaysia
is a criminal and his family must be deported out of Malaysia.

It was also claimed that Azmi’s words were so distressing that it caused Romita to suffer stress, emotional pressure, shock and mental agony, causing her to faint soon after the meeting.

The couple further claimed that Azmi had provided an opportunity to the press to report false allegations on Abdul Mutalib by distributing copies of a document entitled

“Jawapan Ke atas Ucapan Penangguhan Oleh YB Teresa Kok” (Respond to adjournment speech by YB Teresa Kok) to the media representatives in Parliament on the same day.

Children’s future

In the statement, Azmi had among others stated, that Abdul Mutalib - who had been a legal PR since 1978 - was declared an “undesirable immigrant” in 1996 and had his entry permit and identity card revoked.

It is also claimed that the Indonesian had also served a two-year detention under the ISA because of involvement in forging identity cards in Sabah and subsequently deported back to Indonesia in December 1997.

Azmi also alleged that Abdul Mutalib had re-entered the country with a new Indonesian passport and that he had used forged documents to successfully apply for the MyKad (Malaysian identity card) on June 8, 2000.

“The minister had made all these allegations - both verbal and written- despite the fact that the first plaintiff (Abdul Mutalib) was never arrested, tried or convicted for any crime he has alleged,” read the suit.

It is claimed that Azmi’s statements might affect Romita’s effort to garner public support on her campaign for the government to allow her and her children to continue staying in Malaysia.

“The loss cannot be quantified but the amount RM10 million may be reasonable because her children’s future is also at stake.”

Meanwhile, Romita (photo showing her in hospital recently) - accompanied by her children, lawyer Charles Hector and Kok- told reporters that she has constantly fought for her children’s right to remain in the country since her husband was arrested.

“I wish to state that my visa of spouse of citizen will be expiring. My children who have lived and studied in Malaysia all their lives and now separated from their father may be forced to part with their mother too,” she said.

She expressed her hoped that the immigration officials would allow her to stay on guardianship visa so that she can continue to be with her children as they study here.

(NOTE: This information was relayed to MFA by Charles Hector Fernandez, a human rights lawyer in Malaysia. He is closely working with MFA. Charles can be contacted through his email address: chef@tm.net.my.)

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