Saturday August 23, 2008

Perak exco duo: Retract articles and apologise or we’ll sue media and ACA

BY CHRISTINA KOH and CLARA CHOOI

IPOH: The two Perak state executive councillors who were detained for alleged graft have given the Anti-Corruption Agency and the media 24 hours to apologise or face a RM100mil defamation suit.

Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu demanded the apology and retraction of the news articles related to their arrests at a press conference at the State Secretariat here yesterday.

Freed: Jamaluddin waving to supporters after he was released on bail in Ipoh yesterday.

Earlier, Jamaluddin was released at the state ACA office here on bail of RM20,000 at 10.30am after his remand expired.

He promptly joined his fellow exco members at their weekly meeting at the State Secretariat.

On Tuesday, Mohd Osman and four others were picked up by the ACA for alleged graft involving a proposed housing project in Seri Iskandar worth RM180mil.

They were released on similar bails on Thursday after the High Court shortened the remand period.

Jamaluddin was arrested on Wednesday when he gave a statement at the ACA office.

Mohd Osman said he was shocked when he saw the reports in the media with pictures of him handcuffed.

“This has caused much embarrassment for my mother, my wife, my children and all my family members in Malaysia and Singapore,” he said, adding that the statement issued by the ACA headquarters in Putrajaya was grossly distorted for it had alleged that both of them were involved in rasuah seks (sexual favours).

Mohd Osman refuted the reports that he and the others were arrested at a hotel here.

“It actually happened at Kluang Station (restaurant). I did not know there was a hotel there. The media reports also made it seem like Jamaluddin and I are sex maniacs,” said Mohd Osman.

Jamaluddin said if the ACA and the media did not apologise and retract their reports, they would file their defamation suits by Monday.

Meanwhile, the case took an interesting turn with revelations that unknown persons “planted cash” just before Mohd Osman and Jamaluddin were arrested.

It is learnt that Mohd Osman had been having tea with some friends at the restaurant when an “attractive and small-sized woman” came with another man and sat with the group.

A source said the woman who was carrying a black bag placed it on the table.

Minutes later, ACA officials arrived to make the arrests.

Perak ACA director Samsiah Abu Bakar had earlier said the bag, containing the RM100,000 in cash, had been in Mohd Osman’s possession when the arrests were made.

Perak senior exco Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham said the media was wrong to name and display the faces of both Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman.

He also questioned the need to handcuff them when they had cooperated with the authorities.