Anwar sends Muhyiddin legal letter over claim of S$4.6m pay as Selangor's economic advisor

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday (Dec 7) issued a legal letter to his political opponent Muhyiddin Yassin demanding a retraction and apology over a claim that Mr Anwar was paid RM15 million (S$4.6 million) annually as Selangor's economic adviser.

A 10-page legal letter sent to Mr Muhyiddin by Mr Anwar’s lawyers at SN Nair & Partners referred to a campaign speech made by Mr Muhyiddin, who is chairman of opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional, at a rally held at Padang Serai in the state of Kedah on Monday.

The letter stated that a video clip of the speech had been uploaded onto TikTok and carried allegedly defamatory remarks against Mr Anwar through claims that he was paid RM15 million when he was Selangor economic adviser before becoming prime minister.

The clip had been viewed 1.1 million times, shared 2,169 times, liked 21,400 times, and commented on 6,061 times, the letter added.

Mr Anwar's lawyers said that Mr Muhyiddin's statements were untrue and maliciously made, adding that the claim has since been refuted by Selangor state official Juwairiya Zulkifli in an official press statement released on Wednesday.

Ms Juwairiya said that during Mr Anwar's tenure as Selangor economic adviser, he was only given a symbolic salary of RM1 per year.

“The salary has not been paid to him since the date of appointment. He did not receive any allowance or privileges other than the RM1 salary,” she added.

Mr Anwar's legal letter claimed that Mr Muhyiddin's alleged defamatory act was committed to garner cheap publicity for political purposes in the attempt to sway voter support during the ongoing election for Padang Serai's parliamentary seat.

The letter also demanded that Mr Muhyiddin make an unconditional retraction of the defamatory video clip immediately and publicly.

It also called for an unconditional apology from Mr Muhyiddin to be published in newspapers and media of Mr Anwar’s choice, and to make a written undertaking or promise to not repeat the allegations in the video clip.

When contacted, lawyer SN Nair confirmed the letter was posted and delivered by hand on Wednesday.

The letter also said that legal action would be initiated if there was no satisfactory response from Mr Muhyiddin within three days.

Mr Anwar was first appointed Selangor's economic adviser in November 2009 and served under its then-Chief Minister Khalid Ibrahim.

He continued in the role even after his imprisonment in 2015 on a sodomy charge, when Mr Mohamed Azmin Ali became the state's next chief minister.

Mr Anwar was given a full royal pardon and released from prison in early 2018 after Pakatan Harapan won the general election. AGENCIES