MASAMI MUSTAZA - Malay Mail
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 17:38:00
BUKIT ANTARABANGSA: Come clean or face the consequences! Malay NGO Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) has issued an ultimatum to former The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd (NSTP) chief Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan to come clean on his involvement with Malaysian Insider (MI) - or face the consequences.
JMM is giving the media personality one week to explain the allegations leveled against him by the blog Gerakan Anti PKR (http://gerakan-anti-pkr.blogspot.com/) to admit or deny that he is the one behind the online news portal.
This is despite a statement by Kalimullah last month denying that he had any links to Malaysian Insider. Speaking at a Press conference at the Bukit Antarabangsa Community Service Centre in Taman Bukit Mewah today, JMM chairman Azwanddin Hamzah (pic) said if they do not receive any response from Kalimullah, they would have no choice but to reveal the "implicating evidence" against him.
"MI, the blog claims, is seen as Kalimullah's platform to launch attacks against the Prime Minister, the Malay race and the Islamic religion. JMM takes this matter seriously so we are also urging that its claims be investigated because these are serious allegations that can affect the security and the unity of the nation," he said, and cited a MI report dated Feb 17 which he claimed to insult the Malaysian royalty.
The blog also claimed that Kalimullah's riches were gained by forcing a government agency to award a multi million ringgit contract to a company which he allegedly has an interest in. The blog alleges that he has a 30 per cent stake in the company, via a proxy.
"Kalimullah has been quiet all this while but now he must answer if the allegations are true. He must also answer if the allegations are untrue and take action against the blog owner."
When asked if he would be lodging a police report on this, Azwanddin said he will not be doing it in his personal capacity, saying that it was not his place as a "small fry".
"We will mobilise the JMM members to lodge the police report but this depends so the authority can action.
Depending on how he acts, God willing, we may release the evidence on his involvement with MI to the police," he said.
Azwanddin said that within the last month, JMM had written twice to Kalimullah to seek his explanation on the allegations but had failed to receive a reply.
"Kalimullah is an 'big' man so why does he need to resort to this, creating lies and fiction," he said.
On Jan 14, Kalimullah was reported as saying that he had nothing to do with the news portals Malaysiakini or The MI.
“I was not involved in setting up these portals and neither do I have any control, influence, equity or in funding these organisations,” he added.
His statement was in response to speculations that he had funded or harboured Malaysia Today's Raja Petra Kamaruddin in his flat in London, to which he had also denied.
Kalimullah resigned as the deputy chairman of NSTP in 2008 after joining it as group editor-in-chief in 2004.
