Dato Richard Wee
KUCHING (June 26): Dato Richard Wee had told the High Court here that he did not wish to have his children feeling ashamed over a Facebook article written by Democratic Action Party (DAP) politician Michael Kong.
This was stated during a cross examination conducted by defence lawyer Chong Chieng Jen via Zoom yesterday.
Wee is the plaintiff in a defamation suit against Kong.
When asked by Chong on how the Facebook article had affected him, Wee said: “When this article was alerted to me by my wife, I certainly felt that my character, my reputation and the legacy of my family built over generations had been attacked and damaged.
“Me and my children are all very proud of the family name that we carry.”
Wee, 62, also pointed out the close association between Kong and Chong, who is DAP Sarawak chairman.
“Kong is the special assistant to Chong in DAP Sarawak.
“He (Kong) is a young, budding politician who tries to score political brownie points to advance and gain his own political millage at the expense of smearing others,” said Wee, who had affirmed the corporate searches of BNDM Incorporated Holdings Sdn Bhd, Hubline Bhd and Supreme Consolidated Resources Bhd as ‘genuine’.
Wee added that he had included a news article in his suit to show that there were indeed many political analysts who shared their views with regard to the performance of political parties.
“In this case (it is) the DAP. The article has mentioned that the DAP would lose support due to its own poor performance in the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government, where many of its election promises stated their (election) manifesto had not been fulfilled, and that had affected the confidence of the Chinese community,” he said.
Wee also said the article had mentioned Padungan assemblyman Wong King Wei’s resignation from the DAP only played a small part of the party losing the support of the Chinese community.
On Aug 7 last year, Wee’s counsel Shankar Ram Asnani filed the suit against Kong over the latter’s remarks on Facebook posted at 6.24pm on July 21, 2020.
Shankar Ram claimed that Kong had attacked Wee’s integrity, as well as his family background and business.
In a previous news report, Wee — the current president of Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations (SFCA) — said Kong’s remarks against him were ‘baseless, constituting a scurrilous attack on my reputation, character and standing’.
Wee said contrary to what Kong had insinuated in his Facebook article, he (Wee) said his earlier statement about the Chinese trending more towards the state’s ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)was based on personal observation and opinion.
“I made such statements after getting feedback from community leaders, businessmen and a number of cross-sections of the (Chinese) community.
“Kong had taken what I had said out of spite and maliciously attacked my character and reputation,” said Wee.
It is said that Kong had criticised Wee for saying that GPS was gaining support among the Chinese community in view of the ruling coalition’s continued efforts in defending Sarawak’s rights.
Kuching High Court Judge Alwi Abdul Wahab presided over the trial hearing yesterday, with the next session to resume this Tuesday.
Chong is assisted by fellow defence counsel Sim Kiat Leng, while Shankar Ram’s legal team also consists of Russell Lim and Yu Ying Ying.
The defendant, Kong, is a special assistant to Chong, who is also Stampin MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman.