‘NO WORD FROM RAFIZI
NFC head not aware of PKR veep’s plan to pay damages today
NATIONAL Feedlot Corporation (NFC) executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail yesterday said PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli has yet to inform him of his plan to settle a defamation suit.
Salleh said neither his lawyer nor he was aware of Rafizi’s intention to make payment today.
Rafizi had issued a statement claiming he would settle damages and costs owed to Salleh and NFC after bankruptcy proceedings were initiated against the Pandan member of parliament.
“By right, his lawyers should contact my lawyers to state when he is making payment or how he would be making payment. But I haven’t heard anything from him, and neither has my lawyer,” he said.
Salleh said they had placed the advertisement not only in Berita Harian but also at his office and the courts because Rafizi had never made any attempts to pay.
“He never made any attempt or showed any indication that he was going to settle. His lawyers never approached us.
“When the court gave us the letter, we wanted to give it to him, thus we made many appointments, but he never turned up.
“After four attempts, we went back to court.
“Rafizi was never present at the places where he agreed to meet. He gave us dates and at different times. Once he asked us to meet him at 9pm, but when our people went to deliver the notice, he was not there,” he said.
In his statement, Rafizi said he would settle the damages and cost owed after losing the defamation suit and confirmed that contributions totalling RM1.5 million were received.
“My lawyer will calculate the latest sum that needs to be paid, including interests, and I will hand over a cheque to him tomorrow, payable to Datuk Seri Salleh Ismail and NFC,” he said in a statement.
He said once that was done, he would wait for the date of appeal to overturn judge Azizul Azmi Adnan’s decision.
Rafizi claimed Salleh had never tried to contact him and that he had only left letters at his house requesting him to be home at a certain date and time to receive the notice.
He described the action of applying the bankruptcy proceeding without exhausting all avenues to send the notice by hand as a personal attack.
A classified advertisement in Berita Harian s ta te s that a bankruptcy notice had been obtained by NFC and Salleh against Rafizi at the Shah Alam High Court.
The plaintiffs, NFC and Salleh had initiated the proceedings over the unpaid RM306,999.17 in damages and cost.
The notice was dated July 13, and effected by an order dated Sept 12.
It also stated Rafizi could object to the proceedings seven days from the receipt of the notice. Additional reporting by Beatrice Nita Jay