Minda lodges police report against Sarawak Report
(The Star) – Pertubuhan Minda dan Social Prihatin Malaysia (Minda) has lodged a police report against Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak for allegedly tarnishing the country’s image internationally.
The non-governmental organisation made a report at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters in Jalan Hang Tuah on Thursday.
Minda legal adviser Zakwanhafiz Ahmad Ansari said that the NGO had received “official information” to refute 78 articles from 2010 to 2015 which reported about the Penan people and about environment issues in the state.
“Both Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak are operating from London and their articles have gone all over the world. These articles have had a negative impact on the country’s name,” he said at a press conference here on Saturday.
He said that both the Federal and the state governments had helped the Penan people by building rural service centres, clinics and schools.
The NGO also showed a video presentation during the press conference detailing the Sarawak state government’s initiatives in helping the Penan people.
Zakwanhafiz also hoped that Malaysians, especially Sarawakians, would not be “fooled” by the news portal and radio station’s reports.
He said Minda would go all out to bring the matter to the “highest level” internationally by lodging a report with the Attorney-General of Switzerland as Swiss-based group Bruno Manser Fund is funding Sarawak Report.
Minda will also be lodging a report with the Attorney-General of Britain as Sarawak Report is based in London.
The NGO’s president Datuk Ramesh Rao said that allegations about Penan women getting raped were also false, when in actual fact they were well looked after.
He claimed that Minda would also soon lodge a report with a United Nations agency based in Washington, United States, regarding the “inaccurate” information about the Penan people.
When asked the name of the agency, Ramesh was, however, unsure and said that he would furnish the name later.
He said that because the Sarawak state elections were around the corner, Sarawak Report had begun recycling old stories on its website.
“We want to make sure that no foreign powers get involved in Malaysian politics. We know a lot of governments fell because of foreign media or foreign powers,” he said, quoting countries like Libya, Iraq and Egypt.
