PAS members are footing the legal fees for party president Abdul Hadi Awang’s lawyers in the UK who are handling his defamation suit against whistle-blower site Sarawak Report.

PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad said the party was collecting donations from its members to cover the legal costs.

“We collected more than RM200,000 at our muktamar (annual general assembly) in April. We are targeting to raise RM5 million, as we know the cost will be high,” he told The Malaysian Insight today.

Idris was responding to Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown, who asked how PAS could afford its lawyers in the UK, where defamation suits are costly. She had said such suits could cost RM600,000 and asked who was paying lawyers at Carter-Ruck.

The London-based journalist, who has written extensively about the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, is being sued over an article last August alleging that Hadi had received RM90 million from Prime Minister Najib Razak in return for support. 

Last week, during case management of the suit, the London court accepted Hadi’s offer to pay RM80,000 in deposit as security in the event he loses the defamation suit. 

Rewcastle-Brown had earlier applied to the court to force Hadi to pay a deposit as security, should he lose.

She also highlighted how six officials from the Malaysian High Commission had observed the proceedings while no one from PAS was present.

Idris questioned what Rewcastle-Brown was now implying.

“What story is she trying to make up now? Is she trying to associate us with Umno? We don’t take money from others, and certainly not from Umno. 

“We are not like others who take money from Umno. It is only our members who are helping with the money,” he said.

Idris said Rewcastle-Brown should prove her accusations.

“The truth is PAS is standing alone now, facing attacks both from Pakatan Harapan and Umno.” – August 6, 2017.