Speaker claims defamation over notice of Perak Assembly sitting

IPOH : Perak State Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar today claimed he was subjected to defamation over the instruction to issue a notice for the state assembly to sit on May 7

He said he was shocked over a report in The New Straits Times (NST) newspaper yesterday that he had been informed of the assembly sitting before the notice was issued. Sivakumar had said earlier that the notice was issued without his knowledge and approval.

"I will not allow this. It is another attempt to undermine my image and credibility.

"If the allegation is true, why are the people who issued the statement not bold enough to identify themselves in the daily? Why just say it (the source of the news) is someone associated with the office of the menteri besar?" he said in a statement here.

Sivakumar reiterated that he was not informed before the notice on the assembly sitting was issued by assembly secretary Abdullah Antong Sabri last Friday.

Abdullah Antong Sabri

He said his meeting with Abdullah, as reported in the newspaper, was held after the issuing of the notice by Abdullah without any consultation earlier with him (Sivakumar).

"I was told that a notice had been sent to my office at about 10am. A similar notice had been sent by the assembly secretary to all state assemblymen. I saw the notice at about 1pm.

"I only met Abdullah at about 3pm, after he had returned from Friday prayers," he said.

The NST reported yesterday that "Sivakumar had full knowledge of the issuance of the notice for the May 7 sitting of the assembly" before the notice was issued to all the 59 state assemblymen.

- BERNAMA