TIME dotCom Bhd has initiated legal action against a celebseek.com and its owners relating to a news article linking the telco’s commander-in-chief Afzal Abdul Rahim to an individual remanded in connection with some enforcement action in Johor.

The telco has also filed a complaint with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and police, it said in a Bursa Malaysia filing today.

The statement said Afzal is “completely unconnected” to the individual remanded in connection with the case.

“We wish to categorically state that this incident has nothing to do whatsoever with Time, or our commander-in-chief. Such pathetic attempts to drive traffic to an irrelevant website by their owners is clearly defamatory in nature,” it added.

The telco said it will take “every action needed” to seek justice, including “content aggregators who have republished the malicious article without verifying its contents”.

Time emphasised that the slanderous, malicious behaviour unnecessarily risks corporate and personal reputations for no other reason than to seek profit. – Bernama, June 15, 2022.