JAMAL TELLS COURT HE TRIED TO TURN PUBLIC OPINION AGAINST BERSIH 5.0 RALLY
Jamal tells court his allegations against Bersih 5.0 were based on social media postings
SUNGAI Besar Umno chief Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos admitted in the High Court yesterday that he had intentionally tried to provoke reactions from the public so that the Bersih 5.0 gathering in November 2016 would fail.
However, he said, his statements were made based on assumptions, claiming that none of them were made with malice.
Jamal said this when questioned by his lawyer, Mohamed Nasser Yusof, during proceedings in a suit filed by former Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah against him for allegedly claiming the nongovernmental organisation had ties with the Islamic State militant group.
“(My statements) were made because Maria thought herself (and Bersih 2.0) as an NGO that was free of politics, but whenever a gathering is held, politicians would be at the forefront of things.”
On his act of throwing the letter of summons for the suit in a toilet bowl, he said: “I did so because the suit did not come from Bersih despite my statements being against the organisation and not Maria.”
When answering queries from Maria’s lawyer, N. Surendran, Jamal admitted that he did not have any proof that Maria’s late husband, Yunus Ali, was a Palestinian Liberation Organisation commando.
He said he was unsure when asked about his allegations that Yunus had been involved in hijacking aircraft, bombings and the Munich Olympics incident in 1972.
“I am not sure. I got my information from social media. I do not have any evidence to support the allegations as I did not keep any of what I read.”
He claimed that he did not know who the chairman of Bersih was at the time he made the statements.
“I only knew Maria through social media. I don’t know her personally.
“I found out from social media that the gathering would lead to blockades at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and other strategic locations.”
Jamal was warned by judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab not to equate the court with a coffee shop when he failed to produce any evidence or referral material to support his allegations.
In her writ of summons, Maria had claimed that Jamal had slandered her in a press conference on Sept 28, 2016, causing the allegations to be published in media.
She claimed that Jamal again slandered her on Oct 4 in another press conference.