(From left) Fong, Sharifah Hasidah, and Adzrul are seen at the Sibu Court House.
SIBU (July 28): The decision on allowing reporters to enter the courtroom to cover the state government’s defamation suit against Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh lies with Judicial Commissioner Christopher Chin.
In saying this, State Legal Counsel Datuk JC Fong added it is not up to the Sarawak government to decide whether reporters could attend the trial.
“State government did not stop reporters from entering the courtroom. The judge will decide, hopefully today whether reporters can join,” he said during the lunch break.
Wong’s defence counsel George Lo had in the High Court this morning asked why reporters were barred from entering the courtroom.
He had questioned whether it was the judiciary or the state government’s decision.
“Datuk JC Fong confirmed that it is not the state government’s decision and in fact the State Attorney General’s (SAG) Chamber has been distributing the Notes of Proceeding (NOP) to the press, so that the press can be informed of what is going on in the Court,” Lo told reporters.
“I agreed with JC Fong from SAG office that the reporters should be allowed access to this trial, which is in open court, the public can be there, why not the reporters, and I also mentioned that this is a case of great public interest and importance.”
Lo (left) speaks to the reporters as Wong looks on.
Lo said the Judicial Commissioner mentioned that he was not aware that reporters were not allowed in and would check during the lunch break, and hopefully the decision would be made today.
He said if reporters are allowed in, due to social distancing, Wong’s supporters would make way for them to cover the court case.
Lo also said that as a lawyer, he could not comment on the case.
The trial, which started on Monday, is scheduled to continue until Friday.
The state government is claiming that Wong defamed it in a statement issued on May 9, which questioned the settlement with Petronas on the state sales tax.
It is suing Wong, who is Bawang Assan assemblyman and a former state minister, for RM5 million.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali was called as the first witness from Monday.
The plaintiff is also represented by state legal officers Adzrul Adzlan, Oliver Chua, and Anisa Fadhillah Mohamed Jamel, while the defence team is also represented by Jonathan Tay, Clement Wong, Thien Siaw Lien, and Yvonne Sia.