FMT:
Guan Eng denies ‘selective action’ in suing The Star
The former finance minister said that he had merely exercised his discretion in suing the newspaper’s publisher for defamation.
MCA vice-president Tan Teik Cheng (left) with Lim Guan Eng and Teo Nie Ching of DAP during a break in the hearing of a suit against Tan and Star Media Group.
GEORGE TOWN: Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng has denied in court that he was being selective in bringing a defamation suit against the owner of The Star over a report on his actions regarding a Chinese school.
He made the denial when asked why he had targeted the newspaper in the suit, over an article by MCA vice-president Tan Teik Cheng under the headline “Guan Eng’s bullying of TAR UC a contributory factor to Pakatan demise”.
The newspaper’s publisher, Star Media Group, and Tan were named in the suit, in which Lim seeks damages over the article.
He said the article accused him of politicising the funding for SJK(C) Kuek Ho Yao, a Chinese primary school in Johor. He said the article had alleged that Lim “did not dare deny” imposing a condition that the school will get RM4 million in funds if the name of the school was changed.
During cross-examination, Tan’s lawyer, Ng Kian Nam, asked Lim why he took action against The Star despite other newspapers having carried Tan’s statement.
Lim: It is my discretion.
Ng: Did you selectively take action against The Star?
Lim: No, it is my right (to decide) who I should file a defamation suit against.
Ng asked why Lim did not issue a letter of demand to the newspaper before filing the suit.
Lim: (I was) advised by the lawyer and I can do so.
He testified that he did not impose a condition on funds for the school, and said that, as finance minister then, he had authority only to approve funding for vernacular schools.
In his testimony, Lim also defended his claim in a press statement of March 9, when he announced the suit, that the issue of the school’s name raised in The Star article had hurt DAP in the Johor state elections last year.
He said that the party had received feedback that the aspersions cast against the late Kuek Ho Yao, a philanthropist and well-respected figure among the Johor Chinese community, had affected DAP’s support among Chinese voters.
Lim said the DAP candidate’s loss in Yong Peng should not have occurred, as Yong Peng is a Chinese-majority seat.
Ng also asked Lim about funds for Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC).
Lim denied that he politicised education issues.
Ng: When you held the finance minister position, do you admit that you had a track record of politicising education issues?
Lim: I disagree.
He also said that he did not act unilaterally in 2019 in saying that MCA needs to relinquish its ownership of TAR UC for the college to get federal grants. He said it was a policy endorsed by the Cabinet.
Guan Eng did not impose any condition, says Teo
Former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching, testifying for Lim, told the court that Lim did not impose a condition that SJK(C) Kuek Ho Yao would receive federal funds only if its name was changed.
GEORGE TOWN: Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng has denied in court that he was being selective in bringing a defamation suit against the owner of The Star over a report on his actions regarding a Chinese school.
He made the denial when asked why he had targeted the newspaper in the suit, over an article by MCA vice-president Tan Teik Cheng under the headline “Guan Eng’s bullying of TAR UC a contributory factor to Pakatan demise”.
The newspaper’s publisher, Star Media Group, and Tan were named in the suit, in which Lim seeks damages over the article.
He said the article accused him of politicising the funding for SJK(C) Kuek Ho Yao, a Chinese primary school in Johor. He said the article had alleged that Lim “did not dare deny” imposing a condition that the school will get RM4 million in funds if the name of the school was changed.
During cross-examination, Tan’s lawyer, Ng Kian Nam, asked Lim why he took action against The Star despite other newspapers having carried Tan’s statement.
Lim: It is my discretion.
Ng: Did you selectively take action against The Star?
Lim: No, it is my right (to decide) who I should file a defamation suit against.
Ng asked why Lim did not issue a letter of demand to the newspaper before filing the suit.
Lim: (I was) advised by the lawyer and I can do so.
He testified that he did not impose a condition on funds for the school, and said that, as finance minister then, he had authority only to approve funding for vernacular schools.
In his testimony, Lim also defended his claim in a press statement of March 9, when he announced the suit, that the issue of the school’s name raised in The Star article had hurt DAP in the Johor state elections last year.
He said that the party had received feedback that the aspersions cast against the late Kuek Ho Yao, a philanthropist and well-respected figure among the Johor Chinese community, had affected DAP’s support among Chinese voters.
Lim said the DAP candidate’s loss in Yong Peng should not have occurred, as Yong Peng is a Chinese-majority seat.
Ng also asked Lim about funds for Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC).
Lim denied that he politicised education issues.
Ng: When you held the finance minister position, do you admit that you had a track record of politicising education issues?
Lim: I disagree.
He also said that he did not act unilaterally in 2019 in saying that MCA needs to relinquish its ownership of TAR UC for the college to get federal grants. He said it was a policy endorsed by the Cabinet.
Guan Eng did not impose any condition, says Teo
Former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching, testifying for Lim, told the court that Lim did not impose a condition that SJK(C) Kuek Ho Yao would receive federal funds only if its name was changed.
Teo Nie Ching.Teo said that the finance ministry did not involve itself in matters related to school construction, which included the naming of schools.
She said that the finance ministry would only allocate funds intended for the Chinese vernacular schools to the education ministry, which would then disburse the money to the deserving schools.
“To say that MoF (finance ministry) imposed this condition is misleading,” said Teo when cross-examined by Ng.
However, she said that she was involved in the discussion on naming the school with the developer, Eco World Sdn Bhd, the building committee, and the daughter of the late Kuek Ho Yao, a philanthropist in Johor.
Teo also denied that Lim politicised TAR UC.
When asked whether she agreed with DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook, who had said last month that the funding issue was politicised, she said: “I agree that this issue was politicised, but it was politicised by many sides, including MCA.”
Loke’s statement was made when handing a RM40 million federal grant for the college to MCA president Wee Ka Siong.
Lim is demanding that Tan and Star Media Group pay him general damages, which include aggravated damages and exemplary damages.
The hearing continues tomorrow.
Lim was represented by Simon Murali and Kok Yuen Lin, Star Media Group by Abdullah Abdul Rahman, and Tan by Ng, Tan Paik Hong, Sit Jie Hao, Tham Joe Ping, and Koay Li Xian.
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