Ramkarpal: Anwar to sue Yusoff over sex claim

Hours after Muhammed Yusoff Rawther challenged Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to make good his threat to sue him over a sexual misconduct claim, the PKR president’s lawyer said he would do so.

Anwar’s lawyer, Ramkarpal Singh, confirmed that he was given instruction by the PKR leader several days ago to initiate a defamation suit against Muhammad Yusoff next week.

“As the police investigations into the allegations in the said SD (statutory declaration) are now completed with the Solicitor General announcing that Anwar will not be charged as a result of such investigations, I will take the necessary steps to file the said defamation suit next week,” Ramkarpal said in a statement.

At a press conference here earlier yesterday, Yusoff said: “Anwar wants to sue me? Bring it on.”

He added that he was ready to face the suit.

In November last year, Muhammed Yusoff alleged via the SD that Anwar had outraged his modesty on Oct 2, 2018. He also lodged a police report on Dec 7.

He later voluntarily opted to undertake a polygraph test to prove his claim.

Yusoff said he was disappointed with the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) for closing the case using “unacceptable excuses”.

On Tuesday, Solicitor General Datuk Engku Nor Faizah Engku Atek said they agreed with the police recommendation to drop the case after their thorough investigation into the matter.

She cited contradictions in material facts and insufficient statements to justify a prosecution based on the police reports lodged.

Yusoff’s lawyer, Haniff Khatri Abdulla, said the police would usually submit the investigation papers to the AGC if they believed it warranted further action.

“If the police believe the case did not warrant further action, they would have exercised their powers to classify the case as NFA (no further action), and would not forward it to the AGC.

“We have written a letter to the Solicitor General, seeking clarification on her statement,” he said.

He said the clarification from Engku Nor Faizah was crucial so that Yusoff could decide on the next course of action.

“We have requested for a meeting to discuss the matter with the Solicitor General within seven days from the date we submitted the letter today (yesterday),” he said.

At that time, Haniff said his client had yet to receive any notice from Anwar’s lawyers.