Ironic that cops question me in M'sia Baru, says ex-ambassador

Former ambassador Dennis Ignatius said he finds it ironic that police had summoned him for questioning over his remarks about the controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

He said in his ten years of writing, he had never been summoned by the police before, even during the “dark years” under former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration.

“I've been writing for 10 years now. I've written articles about the prime minister, Najib, Mahathir, on human rights, on corruption, on all these political issues.

“And for me, what did I find strange, honestly, is that in all the 10 years that I've been writing, I have never been called to the police station to give a statement.

“I've never been called. Even during the dark years during the Najib period, I was never called, and I am surprised.

“I think it's so ironic that in this era of Malaysia Baru, I am now being summoned to the police to give a statement because of a report filed by a fugitive,” he told reporters today after giving his statement at police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur.

Nevertheless, he said, the police had conducted the questioning professionally.

Police had recorded Ignatius’ statement for nearly three hours from 2.45pm until 5.30pm.

He was questioned regarding a column published on Free Malaysia Today on Aug 13, in which he wrote that Zakir’s influence was growing and sowing racial discord.

In response to the article and statements made by others, Zakir had lodged a police report against Ignatius and four other people, accusing them of slandering him.

The other four named in the report were Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy, Klang MP Charles Santiago, and Bagan Dalam assemblyperson Satees Muniandy.

Ignatius said during his questioning that he had handed over 28 pages of statements, including articles published in Canada, India, Bangladesh and other countries regarding Zakir, as well as statements made by several Malaysian ministers.

He said he had written his article in good faith as a concerned citizen, and the articles that were given to the police show that he was not alone in his views regarding Zakir.

Meanwhile, Ignatius’ lawyer Annous Xavier said he found that over 300 police reports had been lodged against his client nationwide.

“(Ignatius) has given his full cooperation to the police. He’s been investigated under Section 499 and 500 (of the Penal Code) which is for criminal defamation,” he said.