Wong tells DAP not to use suit to divert attention
SIBU: International Trade and E- Commerce Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh has said the DAP should not use Dr Ting Tiong Choon’s threat to sue him over his allegation that the former Pujut assemblyman is bankrupt to divert attention from the fact that it had fielded a disqualified candidate in the last state election.
He challenged DAP to bring the case to court instead of demanding him to apologise for information found on an Australian official website.
“If DAP has the case, DAP should just bring the case to court. The party should not try to use the bankruptcy case to divert attention from its embarrassing mistake of fielding a candidate who has acquired a foreign citizenship.
“It has been typical for state DAP to divert attention of the
If DAP has the case, DAP should just bring the case to court. The party should not try to use the bankruptcy case to divert attention from its embarrassing mistake of fielding a candidate who has acquired a foreign citizenship. Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, International Trade and E-Commerce Minister
public from real issues by creating another issue. Why should I apologise for some information which is provided by the Australian government?” Wong told The Borneo Post yesterday.
On May 12, the Sarawak Legislative Assembly disqualified DAP’s Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon from being a member for previously acquiring Australian citizenship as anyone who acquires a foreign citizenship automatically loses his Malaysian citizenship.
On the bankruptcy case, Wong, who is also Second Finance Minister, insisted that the name of Dr Ting popped up in a bankruptcy search on the Australian National Personal Insolvency Index ( NPII) website.
It was thus puzzling to Wong why Dr Ting kept pushing him to apologise for a declaration made by the Australian government.
“It is not me who decided that Dr Ting is a bankrupt. It is the search on him as provided by the Australian Financial Authority that shows and proves that he is a bankrupt.
“Anyone can do a bankruptcy register search under National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII), it will provide information about an individual who has been subjected to the proceedings under the Bankruptcy Act.”
If Dr Ting wants to clear his name he should go back to Australia to do it and not ask me to refute information made public by the Australian government, Wong said.
Wong was responding to a police report lodged against him on June 3 by Dr Ting, who also said he would file a defamation suit against Wong at the Kuching High Court this week.
Dr Ting said Wong’s public statement calling him a bankrupt was a deliberate effort with malicious intent to damage his personal reputation (as a qualified medical practitioner) and the reputation of DAP for the purpose of political gain.
On May 23, Dr Ting’s legal representative issued a letter of demand to Wong, giving Wong seven days (until May 29) to issue an apology for calling him a bankrupt at a press conference on May 15.