ALOR SETAR: PAS can forgive Nanyang Siang Pau but not Sarawak Report, says Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
“The mistakes made by Nanyang can be forgiven but we can’t forgive Sarawak Report for its lies.
“The lies have tarnished the reputation and image of the party and we will have to fight the case against Sarawak Report,” the PAS president told a press conference after officiating the 63rd muktamar here Saturday.
He said this in relation to a donation drive to raise funds for a defamation suit against Sarawak Report’s Claire Rewcastle Brown in a London court.
Abdul Hadi filed the suit on April 21, seeking damages and an injunction order over an article published on Sarawak Report’s website in August last year.
The article alleged that the PAS president personally received a large sum of cash from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in exchange for the Islamist party to compromise on its political stand on certain issues.
On April 8, Nanyang Siang Pau published a cartoon with the title “Monkey Act” that featured two monkeys sitting on a tree titled “Act 355”, one wearing a songkok marked as “Speaker” and the other in a turban named “Hadi Awang”.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan had said on Friday that the donation drive would be carried out nationwide.
“This is necessary as we need to raise funds for the court case. The initial amount to file the suit is about RM200,000,” he said.
As of noon on Saturday, PAS has managed to raise RM23,150-thestar
