London court ruling proves Sarawak Report not credible – Annuar

KOTA BHARU: The public has been urged not to fall into the trap of irresponsible media and their fake news as such situation can lead to chaos and destruction of the country.

Speaking to reporters at the gathering with media practitioners in Melor here yesterday, Umno Information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the public should remain cautious of the so-called modern alternative media, especially when it involved foreign operators, such as the Sarawak Report which may be masterminded by supporters of certain ideologies at the global level.

“If we get information from such portals, we should just trash it,” he said in response to the London High Court's ruling yesterday, which dismissed most of the defence by Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown in a suit filed by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang over a disparaging article allegedly published by the news portal on Aug 6, 2017.

Annuar said the ruling was another episode which proved that the portal was not credible, with malicious intent and a hidden agenda.

“Sarawak Report has previously been widely regarded as a mercenary portal and it has been proven to be disseminating fake news based on unsubstantiated facts,” he said, adding that such a portal would normally operate overseas to escape the law.

The court, during an almost four-hour hearing of the suit by Abdul Hadi yesterday, also ordered the portal to pay cost of £41,400 (RM227,700.00) to the PAS president within 14 days.

It also set April 2019 for a full trial of the case. - Bernama