This is not a coffee shop, judge tells Jamal

KUALA LUMPUR: Sungai Besar Umno chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos told the High Court here yesterday that his actions and that of the Red Shirt group followers were to “deliberately provoke” the Bersih 5.0 rally so that it would be a failure.

Jamal, 48, who was then chairman of the Gabungan Gerakan Merah Malaysia, said he decided to do so after he received information on social media that there was a possibility of a Bersih gathering at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, and several strategic places in the country during the gathering on Nov 19, 2016 .

“What my group and I did was ‘deliberate provocation’ to thwart the rally. I also issued a statement at a press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) on the Bersih 5.0 rally,” he said during crossexamination by lawyer N. Surendran, representing former Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah in a suit she brought against Jamal for linking Bersih to the Daesh terrorist group.

To another question on whether he had strong evidence linking the Bersih to the Daesh terrorist group in the statement he made on Sept 28, 2016, Jamal said it was based on his “assumptions”.

“The statement that Bersih was involved with violence was not only made by me, even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had made a statement that the violence that took place during the Bersih 3.0 rally was an indication that the opposition would do what it could to gain power,” he said.

Jamal told the court that he had no documents to prove the allegations he made against Bersih causing Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab to reprimand him.

“This is the court … talk only if there is evidence ... this is not a coffee shop where we can chat,” said the judge.

To another question about provocative statements that appeared on his Facebook account regarding the May 13 tragedy and a flying parang or machete, Jamal said it was a fake Facebook account and he had lodged a police report on the matter.

Meanwhile, Jamal, who was represented by lawyer Mohamed Nasser Yusof, in his witness statement had said that he had no intention of slandering anyone including Maria.

“My intention was to keep the authorities safe as the presence of Bersih participants could cause chaos, violence and public disturbance,” he said.

Moreover, he said there were previous records to show that there was damage to both public and police property.

The trial which began in October last year, ended with Jamal’s testimony yesterday. He was its last witness.

Mohd Zaki fixed Aug 13 for case management.

On Oct 7, 2016, Maria, 62, sued Jamal as defendant after claiming that he had used defamatory words in a media conference at the Putra World Trade Centre compound which was then published and broadcast on several news portals, newspapers and electronic media. - Bernama