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By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 14: In the ongoing defamation legal suit brought by Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian against Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen over allegedly defamatory Facebook posts by the latter, advocate Yu Ying Ying took the stand as the 11th witness of the case.
During the examination by chief counsel for the plaintiff Shankar Ram Asnani, Yu who is also a counsel for the plaintiff, affirmed her witness statement and testified about the preparation of key witness documents and the relevance of a particular article.
She affirmed that she had prepared witness statements, an amended witness statement and a supplementary witness statement for the trial.
During the proceedings, the supplementary witness statements were brought to attention. A point of contention arose over an article titled “Monstrous! – How Sarawak’s GPS Have Played Politics With Hunger,” dated April 5, 2020 by Sarawak Report. The defense counsel objected to the article’s relevance, asserting that it was unrelated to the case involving the defendant’s Facebook posts dated April 15 and 18, 2020. The Kuching High Court however, deemed the article relevant based on its mention in the statement of claim, allowed it to be considered in the trial.
During cross-examination, when defense counsel Brenda Chong asked Yu about the possible republishing of the defendant’s Facebook post on Instagram, Yu expressed uncertainty. The defense then questioned her certainty, suggesting that she might not have seen the post on Instagram.
Brenda referred to one of the documents, specifically highlighting the date April 23, 2020 and raised questions about whether Yu had printed the defendant’s first Facebook post on that date. Yu clarified that while she had seen the post earlier, she had printed it on April 23, 2020.
Defense counsel Michael Kong intervened to explain the purpose of the cross-examination. He emphasised that the goal was not to challenge multiple searches before April 23, 2020 but to clarify the printing date.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development, Dr Annuar Rapaee was called as the 12th witness.
During the cross-examination, a pivotal contention raised by the defense was the inclusion of information from the article titled “Monstrous! – How Sarawak’s GPS Have Played Politics With Hunger,” dated April 5, 2020 by Sarawak Report.
The defendant’s legal team argued that the content of the article was irrelevant to the case and should not be taken into account when evaluating the defamatory nature of the Facebook posts by Chong.
The defense further asserted that Dr Annuar’s statements had strayed from the focus of the case, contending that the content of his statements was not tied to the issues addressed in the trial.
In response, the plaintiff’s legal team emphasised the significance of analysing the chronology of events leading up to the alleged defamatory Facebook posts. Shankar Ram argued that Dr Annuar’s statements, even if not directly related to the Facebook posts, were pertinent to understanding the context and intent behind those posts.
Key legal principles, including the requirement that evidence must align with the scope of the case as defined by the pleadings, were invoked in the arguments.
Presiding Kuching High Court Judge Alwi Abdul Wahab ruled that Dr Annuar’s statements related to the article in question were admissible as evidence and were aligned with the ongoing trial.
Dr Annuar was questioned regarding his affiliation with Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) which is a component party of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition. Dr Annuar is the PBB Vice President. GPS comprises PBB, SUPP, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
During the cross-examination, defense counsel Kong referred to a letter issued by the Ministry of Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development containing details about food assistance allocations.
The cross-examination focused on the allocation of RM200,000 for each Sarawak Legislative Assembly constituency for providing food assistance to families in need. The questioning aimed to reveal the distribution patterns of these funds based on political affiliations.
Kong established that the allocation requests were often directed toward service centres of GPS assemblymen, suggesting a potential correlation between political alignment and fund allocation. However, Dr Annuar stressed that while such allocations were indicated in the letter, they never materialised as intended.
The cross-examination on Annuar will continue tomorrow at 10am.
Counsels Shankar Ram, Russell Lim and Yu represented the plaintiff, while Chong Siew Chiang, Kong, and Brenda represented the defendant. — DayakDaily
