Pro ‘freedom of speech’ senator suing blogger/former editor

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is suing Datuk Kadir Jasin over a blog article written by the latter on 21st October 2009.

The said article is entitled – “Zaid, The Hurricane Hattie of PR”.

Zaid then wrote a rebuke on the same day some 12 hours later. His is entitled – “Kalau Hati Dah Busuk”.

After reading both articles, I believe Zaid had made a faux pas..

He ended his ‘Kalau Hati Dah Busuk’ article with this paragraph:

“Bagi saya, kalau PKR, PAS atau DAP yang mendakwa saya ini satu watak kartun dan seorang pengacau, maka saya perlu meneliti tuduhan tersebut. Tetapi kalau setakat penulis upahan UMNO yang membuat tuduhan, saya rasa saya masih lagi boleh tidur nyenyak. Lagi pun tak berapa syok nak melayan budak-budak upahan, terutamanya yang hati mereka dah terlalu busuk.”

I think after 5 weeks gone by, Zaid still couldn’t sleep soundly. Hence this litigation suit.  In the end, he wanted to feel ‘syok melayan budak-budak upahan‘ afterall.

Datuk Kadir Jasin

Which comes to another point, Kadir Jasin is blogger upahan Umno? Meaning Najib pays him to write articles to criticise Zaid? Wow.. imagine that.. The PM, paying someone from the ‘old regime’ (Zaid’s own words) to do the writings…

Is that Zaid’s defence against any criticisms?

No wonder he couldn’t sleep soundly.

What is so wrong about the article which made him issue a writ of summon to Kadir Jasin?

Is there any element of defamation in it? Didn’t Zaid write a few allegatory statements concerning Kadir Jasin in his own rebuttal as well?

So, what is the contentious issue? All of Pakatan Rakyat supporters are supporting Zaid Ibrahim anyway. Who cares if one negative article was published in blogosphere?

You mean to say, people cannot write whatever they want? Since when?

We have been doing that since the MSC was set up some 10 years ago. And we got away with it.

This is simply the case of – “do what I say not do what I do”.

When he and all the opposition bloggers write tremendous amount of unfair accusations and uncouth articles defaming everyone else, it is fine. But when one is confronted with a ghost from the past, he became rattled and couldn’t sleep peacefully.

The irony is, he would like to be seen as liberal and the fighter of press freedom and freedom of speech.

Nevertheless, it is his right to sue people as much as it was Kadir Jasin’s right to write that article.  Unlike some people who ran away like a coward, I am sure Kadir Jasin will commence all the necessary legal actions to defend his article based on any evidence that he can produce.

Accountability is after all, a mantra all these old school editors hold on to. Too bad Zaid has no faith in his own writings. Otherwise, the accountability and the substance he tried to convey in his article could easily counter or negate whatever Kadir Jasin had originally written.

Anyway, from now on, listen up people. Nobody must criticise Datuk Zaid Ibrahim!

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News update 3.40pm : Kadir Jasin is puzzled with the lawsuit.