The former Vice-Chancellor and former Chairman of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Ibrahim Shah Abu Shah, has recommended that Youth and Sports Minister and Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh step down from her position following her loss in a defamation lawsuit.
According to his statement published in Sinar Harian, Ibrahim Abu Shah believes she should step down for various reasons, including to protect the name and credibility of the government after she had failed to sue.
The suit in question
This comes after Yeoh had recently failed to sue former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan regarding his statement at a forum at UiTM in January 2020.
The statement mentioning Yeoh is as follows: “And they also want to destroy Islam in this country. Because they have links to Jews to destroy this country. And, I have done a lot of research where I found that there is a connection between the Evangelist group and the DAP party here.”
“Because they wrote a book, Hannah Yeoh also wrote a book (titled ‘Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey’), to make this country a Christian country…”
Judicial Commissioner Azriah Mohamed Apandi dismissed the suit and ordered that Yeoh pay costs of RM40,000 after finding that she failed to prove that the statement made by Musa Hassan was defamatory.
“I find that in this case, the ceremony (where the forum was held) was of special status, there was no proven malice, and the defendant had reasonable grounds for the statement based on the plaintiff’s confession and writing (in her book, Becoming Hannah) and the publication (of the defendant’s statement) was beyond his control,” he said.
Due to this loss, Ibrahim Abu Shah believes Hannah Yeoh should step down from the government to “safeguard the good name and credibility of the Unity Government led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim”.
Additionally, he believes her failure to sue can have major implications for her reputation and the reputation of the government she represents and that her actions and statement should remain in line with the oath of office taken, especially in upholding the Federal Constitution.
Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Ibrahim Shah also used the example of former Malaysian Minister Abdul Rahman Talib, stepping down from his position after he failed to sue opposition MP Seenivasagam on claims of defamation.
The former Minister had resigned despite then Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman expressing his confidence in Abdul Rahman Talib. This act was seen as an ethical move to protect the government’s reputation.
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