Tony Pua is not shackled by the defamation suit brought by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak regarding the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fiasco.
The 42-year-old DAP national publicity secretary said this was because he believed he is supported by millions of Malaysians who demand good governance, transparency and accountability from the Prime Minister and his Government.
"My lawyer and Puchong MP, Gobind Singh, received the writ of summons served by Najib's lawyers at 4.30pm Thursday.
"The suit by the PM accused me of having defamed him in my speech last November when I spoke extensively on the 'mother of the mother of the mother of all scandals', 1MDB.
"This suit is the first defamation suit ever brought by Najib as Prime Minister against a Member of Parliament in Malaysia," Pua said in a statement late Friday.
Petaling Jaya Utara MP said, the suit came at a time when 1MDB is facing a crisis on all fronts – the inability to service its massive RM42 billion debt, mounting exposés on fraudulent transactions and even possibly embezzlement billions of ringgit of 1MDB funds.
The suit could have been filed as a strategy to silence him and other Government's critics, he said.
"I would like to inform the Prime Minister that if that was the plan, he has failed miserably. Instead, the suit only strengthened my motivation to pursue, investigate and expose more corruption, abuse of power and incompetence in 1MDB as well as other Government activities, knowing that I am on the right track.
"I will contest the suit by the Prime Minister. At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude to the many lawyers who have contacted me to offer their services pro bono," Pua added.
On Thursday, Najib, 61, filed a defamation suit against Pua and another person at the Civil High Court registry here through Messrs Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak.
In the suit, filed in his personal capacity, Najib had named Pua and Chan Chee Kong, 51, owner of online portal Mediarakyat.net, as the first and second defendants.
In his statement of claim, Najib said Pua had defamed him when he spoke about the 1MDB issue at a DAP fund-raising dinner in Petaling Jaya on Nov 3, 2014.
The 42-year-old DAP national publicity secretary said this was because he believed he is supported by millions of Malaysians who demand good governance, transparency and accountability from the Prime Minister and his Government.
"My lawyer and Puchong MP, Gobind Singh, received the writ of summons served by Najib's lawyers at 4.30pm Thursday.
"The suit by the PM accused me of having defamed him in my speech last November when I spoke extensively on the 'mother of the mother of the mother of all scandals', 1MDB.
"This suit is the first defamation suit ever brought by Najib as Prime Minister against a Member of Parliament in Malaysia," Pua said in a statement late Friday.
Petaling Jaya Utara MP said, the suit came at a time when 1MDB is facing a crisis on all fronts – the inability to service its massive RM42 billion debt, mounting exposés on fraudulent transactions and even possibly embezzlement billions of ringgit of 1MDB funds.
The suit could have been filed as a strategy to silence him and other Government's critics, he said.
"I would like to inform the Prime Minister that if that was the plan, he has failed miserably. Instead, the suit only strengthened my motivation to pursue, investigate and expose more corruption, abuse of power and incompetence in 1MDB as well as other Government activities, knowing that I am on the right track.
"I will contest the suit by the Prime Minister. At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude to the many lawyers who have contacted me to offer their services pro bono," Pua added.
On Thursday, Najib, 61, filed a defamation suit against Pua and another person at the Civil High Court registry here through Messrs Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak.
In the suit, filed in his personal capacity, Najib had named Pua and Chan Chee Kong, 51, owner of online portal Mediarakyat.net, as the first and second defendants.
In his statement of claim, Najib said Pua had defamed him when he spoke about the 1MDB issue at a DAP fund-raising dinner in Petaling Jaya on Nov 3, 2014.
