KUALA LUMPUR: Former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan finally broke her silence over points in a counterclaim in United Kingdom courts naming her as the source for articles in Sarawak Report.
However, the former Bar Council president did not answer any of the allegations against her, instead Ambiga elected to say that the matter was one for the UK courts.
She, in fact made allegations of her own, claiming that Pas leaders were seeking to conduct a mini trial against her in Malaysia.
“The recently disclosed defence and counterclaim in the(Datuk Seri) Abdul Hadi Awang vs Clare Rewcastle Brown suit filed in the UK, has in Malaysia been focused on two paragraphs in which I have been specifically named.
“I have refrained from comment for now, in view of the pending proceedings in the UK court.
“The forum for the proceedings in the UK was chosen by the claimant (Hadi), as he is perfectly entitled to do. It is therefore in the UK Court, that any request or demand for documents or information must be made.
“It is there that the responses to the serious allegations contained in the defence and counterclaim must be submitted. It is there that the trial will be held. In the UK. Not in Malaysia,” said Ambiga in a statement responding for the first time since the news came to light two days ago.
Ambiga said she had also been a victim of targeted acts of intimidation and harassment for the past few days, receiving barrage of attacks from ministers, party members and others aligned to Hadi.
Other than media coverage from mainstream media demanding her to come clean, she said bloggers have also made sexist, racist and highly defamatory remarks on both Rewcastle Brown and herself.
“In my view, these are targeted acts of intimidation and harassment against me. They seriously undermine, and are disrespectful of, the UK proceedings and may in my view, amount to contempt of the UK court.
“As these acts may in one way or another be seen to be connected to Hadi, I believe he could be answerable to the UK court for them,” she said.
Ambiga has also called those who have been vociferous in condemning her and who are aggrieved in any way, to take those grievances to the court in the UK.
She said the main issue, which should be the focus, is the serious allegations contains in the defence and counterclaim.
On Monday, The Malaysian Insight article stated that Rewcastle Brown made claims in a court filing on Oct 11 that she spoke to Ambiga in July last year about Najib, 1Malaysian Development Bhd (1MDB), and Pas.
Rewcastle-Brown also claimed that her sources, whom she said were reliable, had estimated the amount that had been paid was around RM90 million.
Her defence was filed against a defamation suit by Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang against her. The suit was filed at the Queen's Justice Division High Court in London, United Kingdom on April 21 this year.
Hadi had alleged that he was defamed in a Sarawak Report article titled "As Najib denies all over 1MDB let's not forget his many other criminal connections", which was published on Aug 6 last year. The article implied that money was given in return for Pas' support for Barisan Nasional.