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By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Sept 14: The ongoing 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 continued today.
During the cross-examination of witness Nangka rep Dr Annuar Rapa’ee in the Kuching High Court, defense counsel Michael Kong focussed on Dr Annuar’s witness statement, particularly addressing his assertion that the defendant did not take steps to verify certain points stated in a Sarawak Report article.
Kong questioned the basis for such a claim, given that there were no direct accusations against Dr Sim or his service centre in the article in question.
In response to Kong’s probing, Dr Annuar emphasised the importance of verifying statements, especially for public figures like himself, before making any accusations or allegations. The cross-examination continued with a meticulous examination of various statements made by Dr Annuar, both in his press releases and his witness statement.
Kong questioned Dr Annuar over certain press statements, including one in a Borneo Post online article dated April 12, 2020. Dr Annuar confirmed his involvement in asking several elected representatives to check whether food aid allocations had been deposited into the bank accounts of himself or his service centre.
When asked about the responses of these representatives, Dr Annuar explained that they were interested parties in the issue and wanted to know where the allocated funds had gone. The cross-examination then shifted to whether any of the elected representatives had made statements in the press regarding the food aid allocations, to which Dr Annuar’s recollection was unclear.
Kong attempted to clarify whether there had been any accusations of fraud, dishonesty, or corruption against Dr Annuar made by specific elected representatives, but the witness could not provide a definitive answer. Dr Annuar maintained that all the elected representatives were interested parties in the issue.
The Nangka rep was also questioned about the distribution of food aid by his Nangka Service Centre during the Covid-19 pandemic. He revealed that his service centre did not handle the purchase of food but received supplies from the Divisional Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) after making requests. He described the process of making these requests through a hotline.
Kong probed further, suggesting that Dr Annuar’s service centre had the power to purchase food items for distribution, as indicated in official letters from the Ministry of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development. However, he disagreed with this assertion.
The questioning also centred on accusations of mismanagement and political bias in the distribution of food aid funds.
When questioned about the decision-making authority of the Food Supply Chain Committee and whether its directives were followed by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) ADUNs Service Centres, Dr Annuar firmly disagreed with this assertion, stating that he preferred the Resident’s Office to handle food purchases while his service centre focused on distribution.
The trial further delved into changes in the food aid supply programme outlined in a letter dated April 3, 2020. Dr Annuar confirmed that three significant changes were made in the said programme, including the allocation of funds to the District Disaster Management Committees, responsibility for payment, and the role of service centres. However, Dr Annuar clarified that, in his view, the third change concerning the service centers’ responsibilities had not been implemented.
The trial also touched on the distribution of food aid during the Movement Control Order (MCO), with Dr Annuar asserting that he was not directly responsible for determining which families received aid. Instead, he relied on information provided by the Resident’s Office regarding the number of families assisted each day.
In response to questions about the quantity of aid distributed, Dr Annuar could not provide a precise estimate but suggested that it was unlikely to exceed a thousand families per day.
The trial is scheduled to resume on October 31 to November 2, December 4, and December 11 to 14 with further witnesses expected to provide their testimony.
Dr Sim was represented by counsels Shankar Ram, Russell Lim and Yiu Ying Ying whereas Chong was represented by counsels Chong Siew Chiang, Kong, Brenda Chong and Sim Kiat Leng. — DayakDaily
