Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (left) says Raja Petra Kamarudin’s articles are aimed at discrediting him; Raja Petra Kamarudin has been ordered to reveal the source of the allegations against Muhammad Shafee
Yesterday, Muhammad Shafee did not disguise his disdain for Raja Petra, calling him all sorts of names and urging the press to print them so that the blogger would sue him.
"I want him to sue me. This man is not interested in telling the truth, instead he hides behind his blog. In court, he hides behind his wife's skirt.
"If Raja Petra wants an independent arbitration on this matter, with independent arbitrators chosen by joint consent between him and me, I will gladly accept it and challenge him to produce the proof of his allegations."
The well-known lawyer had called a press conference to deny the blogger's allegation that he had a hand in a conspiracy in relation to the sodomy charge against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"It all started from a rumour saying that I was likely to be appointed prosecutor against Anwar. This is not true.
"Somebody thought it was very dangerous to have me as a prosecutor and Raja Petra's articles are aimed at discrediting me. He is a puppet for political animals," he said at his office here yesterday.
"Puppet" was the kindest word Muhammad Shafee used to describe the blogger.
"I have independent evidence, both oral and documentary, that will show that neither the office of Shafee & Co nor this conference room where you (reporters and photographers) are sitting in, or the white-board you are looking at, nor I, personally, are involved in anything close to the allegation by Raja Petra that we are involved in a conspiracy relating to the sodomy case.
"I have been away in Kuching and Terengganu for more than six weeks prior to Anwar being charged. I was away from June 28 to Aug 7 continuously with one week in Kuala Terengganu (all of them related to my work in relation to three election petitions).
"Why should the police want to do a 'black' operation in this room? Don't you think a black operation, by its nature, is secretive? This room has big windows. Even the gardeners can see in and it is being monitored 24 hours by CCTV (closed-circuit television camera)."
Muhammad Shafee even offered reporters a tour around his office or a look through the documents he had with him which showed his whereabouts during the time he was alleged to have conspired with the police against Anwar.
Muhammad Shafee said he would monitor Raja Petra like a hawk. If he failed to comply with the court order served on him last Friday, he would compel Raja Petra to be produced in court for contempt.
Muhammad Shafee said Raja Petra was aware of the contents of the order dated Aug 13 as admitted by him in his article the next day itself.
On Wednesday, the High Court ordered Raja Petra to reveal the source of the allegations against Muhammad Shafee in three online articles dated Aug 6, Aug 7 and Aug 11 relating to the sodomy charge against Anwar.
In addition, the order also compelled him to, within three days of its service on him, reveal the identities of visitors to his web portal who had left comments and messages following the publishing of the articles.
The order, granted by judge Datuk Tee Ah Sing in chambers, also included several injunctions, the first of which directed Raja Petra to remove the defamatory articles from the web portal within two days as well as other follow-up articles and comments posted by visitors.
Later in the evening, Muhammad Shafee lodged a police report against Raja Petra for alleged criminal defamation, sedition, vulgarities, and offences under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
Asked whether he was worried about his safety for being outspoken against Raja Petra, Muhammad Shafee said he had had his share of threats -- from live bullets sent to him and having his car tyres slashed.
He said Raja Petra, who had been declared a bankrupt for quite sometime, was acting recklessly because he had nothing else to lose.
"This is why he is not bothered to enter himself to court nor defend his credibility as a newsman."
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