Former Damansara Member of Parliament (MP) Tony Pua raised a public donation on his Facebook earlier today for a legal cost of RM400,000 he needs to pay with Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin.
This follows their defamation suit by Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun over their claims of her and MCA abusing power to alienate a piece of land at Kampung Chempaka.
The High Court found the duo guilty last Wednesday (30 Nov) as Chew successfully proved to the judge that she was never a member of the district land committee that has agreed to sell the land to MCA at RM1 per sq ft.
In the Court’s statement, Tony Pua was ordered to pay RM250,000 as general and aggravated damages, while Yeo had to pay RM150,000 to the plaintiff as general damages.
Besides, they were also asked to pay another RM50,000 to Chew.
In the post, Tony Pua said they “respectfully, but strongly disagree with the Court decision and have instructed our lawyers to file for an appeal immediately.
However, they still need to pay the cost while waiting for the appeal to be heard.
“We are hence seeking support from the public to raise funds to help us settle the above damages and cost.”
He added that if the appeal is successful, the funds donated will be used for future election campaigns, including the state elections in Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan.
The post has garnered more than 2.2k comments, 547 comments and 416 shares as of writing.
See the post here:
“Why burden the people?”
The netizens’ responses to this fundraising were divided into sides of a spectrum. Some were seen supporting them by writing “OK” and “Done” or thanking them for their efforts.
On the other hand, some were asking him to disclose the Court’s judgements for the netizens to understand the entire situation and make better decisions.
One of them is MCA’s Ampang candidate Ivone Low Yi Wen, in GE15.
Many were seen bashing the two as their asset should be able to afford the cost, highlighting Tony Pua, retired in his 40s as a finance elite in Singapore and Yeo Bee Yin, the wife of the IOI Groups, top 10 richest in Malaysia.
Some think it is unreasonable to ask for a donation from the people as they should be responsible for their statement whether or not it is for the people.
Author Lim Wooi Tee was also seen questioning Tony Pua’s action in the comment section and pointing out that it is inappropriate to use the donation funds for future election campaigns if the appeal is successful.
“DAP should learn to respect the Court. Not take this as an opportunity to play victim and drain more money from the public,” he wrote.
He made a post following the issue on his Facebook. See it here.
What do you think about this? Comment below!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the netizens’ own and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of WeirdKaya.
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Cover image via FB/ Tony Pua
