By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Nov 15: Sarawak Legal Counsel Datuk Seri JC Fong challenges Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong to either waive her parliamentary immunity against legal proceedings or to repeat her recent accusations against him outside the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN).
Fong challenged Yong to meet him at the DUN Complex cafeteria at 3pm tomorrow (Nov 15, 2019) for a face-to-face session and members of the media and the public are also invited to witness.
In a letter signed by Fong dated today and which has since gone viral, Fong laid out his two challenges.
The first is a challenge for Yong to “publicly declare that you unequivocally waive your parliamentary immunity against legal proceedings for what you had uttered in the Chamber of the Dewan” and secondly, to “repeat what you have said about me in the Dewan”.
He stated that the purpose of the challenges is to allow him to seek legal redress from Yong for false accusations — “…so that I can seek legal redress for the false and defamatory allegations you have made against me inside the Dewan by instituting defamation action in Court against you”.
He expressed his confidence that Yong will not deny him his constitutional right to seek legal redress.
Fong noted that when the allegations were made by Yong in DUN on Nov 6, 2019, Fong was not in DUN to defend himself, firstly because he is not an elected lawmaker who has the right to speak in DUN and secondly, he was not physically present at the time.
Meanwhile, he also pointed out to Yong in the letter that there will be security guards present on DUN premises to ensure that Yong will not be “ambushed or harassed”.
Yong had on Nov 6, 2019 accused Fong’s daughter of owning interests in government-linked companies. Apart from Fong, Yong also alleged that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg’s son is linked to a company that has a stake in Petronas projects.
The related contents of her speech were expunged by DUN Speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar who made the decision as he deemed that Yong’s speech had casted aspersion and improper motive on the character of the chief minister and his son as well as Fong and Fong’s daughter, especially the latter parties who were not there to defend themselves.
Yong also held a press conference on Nov 12, 2019 on the sidelines of the recently concluded DUN sitting, claiming that she was “ambushed” and “harassed” by Fong’s wife who had sought Yong out in the DUN building for making allegations against the latter’s daughter.
Following that incident, Yong claimed in the press conference to be distressed, “could not sleep” and “emotionally blackmailed and manipulated”. She thus called for tighter security at DUN.
In face of the accusations hurled at his son, Abang Johari came to the defence, claiming that his son was only an independent director who owned no shares and has no fiduciary interest in the company mentioned by Yong.
Furthermore, he stated that his son had since in June 2018 retired as an independent director from the said company. — DayakDaily
