KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — Former senator Datuk Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor committed criminal defamation when he accused the prime minister of corruption, according to Malay rights group Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) today.
The group, which has been reporting individuals and organisations that received foreign funding to any authority it can find, today also filed a police report against the former PKR and Umno member who is now with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
JMM president Datuk Azwanddin Hamzah claimed Ezam’s recent statement had tarnished Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s image and merited investigation.
“I urge the police to carry out a detailed investigation regarding his statement, under the Section 499 of the Penal Code,” he told reporters after lodging a police report against Ezam at Dang Wangi Police Headquarters here today.
On Sunday, Ezam issued a statement saying that Malaysia faced far greater dangers from local corruption than it did from foreign funding to local groups by US billionaire George Soros’s Open Societies Foundation.
Ezam, once regarded as former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s right hand man, rejoined Umno in 2008, after a falling out with PKR.
Last month, Ezam quit Umno and claimed that this was driven mainly by the government’s decision to classify the Auditor General’s audit findings on state investment arm 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
