GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (pix) has filed a defamation suit against Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) life honorary president Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping over the latter’s remark concerning a state land sale last year.
Chow said he decided to initiate the suit because no attempt was made by Tan to apologise or retract his remarks.
“My solicitors have extracted the sealed copy of the writ and statement of claim yesterday evening, and the same shall be served on Tan for his defamatory remarks made during a press conference organised by the PCCC on Oct 18 Oct last year,“ Chow said in a statement here today.
According to Chow, Tan had used his capacity as the PCCC’s life honorary president to call for the press conference in respect of a joint development agreement dated Sept 27, last year, for a proposed development project between Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and Umech Land Sdn Bhd.
“Even though PDC had announced the deal had been dropped on Oct 16, last year, Tan deliberately made slanderous remarks in Mandarin against me during the press conference to attack my character, credibility, competency and capability as the chief minister and as the PDC chairman,” he said.
Chow claimed that the slanderous statements were eventually printed and published in, among others, several prominent Chinese-language newspapers.
He said the suit has been fixed for case management at the Penang High Court on Jan 24.
Until press time, attempts by Bernama to reach Tan for comments were futile.
In October last year, the Penang State Executive Council unanimously decided that Chow should initiate legal proceedings against Tan for his statements which humiliated and degraded the chief minister.
It was reported last year that Tan had accused Chow of being “incompetent” for evading questions about the controversial sale of land owned by the PDC in Byram to UMECH Land Sdn Bhd. –Bernama
