Vice Admiral Datuk Sabri Takes Legal Action Against Chegubard for Graft Claims

KUALA LUMPUR: President of the National Defence Studies Centre (Puspahanas) Vice Admiral Datuk Sabri Zal has filed a lawsuit against political activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Chegubard. His lawyer Mohd Firdaus Jamaludin, reading from a prepared statement, said that the lawsuit was filed at the Kuala Lumpur courthouse on Wednesday (Jan 21). He said that the lawsuit was filed following Badrul’s refusal to remove his statements against Sabri. “First, there was no response from Chegubard regarding the letter of demand to remove all defamatory statements that had been made. Second, those statements are untrue, misleading, and contain elements of defamation. “This matter has caused serious reputational damage that cannot be remedied through a public explanation alone,” he said. He added that his client has never been charged or convicted in any corruption or abuse of power cases and that such allegations have “distorted public perception”. “We also stress that documents obtained unlawfully, taken out of context, or exposed to risks of fabrication and manipulation cannot be regarded as conclusive evidence. “This situation has led to pre-judgment and a ‘trial by social media’ which has a negative impact not only on the individual involved but may also undermine public confidence in the related institutions,” he said. Previously, Chegubard had alleged that the vice admiral had been involved in several instances of misconduct and urged that he be temporarily relieved of his duties for investigations to be conducted.