'Repentant' complainant wants Mat Sabu cleared

A police retiree raised eyebrows during PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu's criminal defamation trial today by repeatedly apologising for lodging a police report against Mohamad and pleaded with the court to clear the politician of any wrongdoing.

According to Bernama, Visva Nathan, 75, from Raub, Pahang, said he lodged the police report on Aug 27 last year after reading a Malay language newspaper report.

“I apologise and do not want the police to take action,” Visva told the sessions court in Butterworth after being shown the newspaper reports and a text of the speech by Mohamad, who is better known as Mat Sabu.

Visva, who is the first witness, was testifying in the criminal defamation case involving Mat Sabu before sessions court judge Ikmal Hishan Mohd Tajuddin.

Below is a transcript of Visva's cross examination, which has been reproduced from Harakahdaily.com:

Q: Do you agree that you were not at Mat Sabu's ceramah?
A: Yes, agree.

Q: Do you agree that you did not personally hear what Mat Sabu said, therefore you did not know what he had said?
A: Yes, agree.

Q: Look at the reports by Utusan Malaysia and the excerpt from Mat Sabu speech, do you agree that what was written in Utusan did not reflect what Mat Sabu said?
A: Yes, agree.

Q: Mat Sabu made no mention of communists at all in his speech but Utusan said he did, is that correct?
A: Correct.

Q: Do you agree or not what you wrote in your police report, which said Mat Sabu defamed the police officers by supporting communists is untrue?
A: Yes, agree.

Q: So the police report is incorrect and I can say that Mat Sabu did not defame the police but it was you who defamed Mat Sabu in your police report?
A: Yes, I agree, I wanted to seek an apology from him (Visva says this while raising his hand to Mat Sabu, who was in the dock).

Q: In the police report, you said you wanted the police to take legal action against Mat Sabu. Are you still sticking to what you said?
A: No, I want to apologise to Mat Sabu. He is now my brother, I want him to be freed.

Q: You said that Mat Sabu had committed treason against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, I would like to ask how could you say he had committed treason against the Agong when during the Bukit Kepong incident there was no Yang di-Pertuan Agong? How can Mat Sabu commit treason for something that had not existed?
A: I cannot answer that question.

Q: So, you agree what is said in your police report was untrue?
A: Agree.

Visva, according to Harakahdaily.com, also admitted that he did not know where was Bukit Kepong and when pressed by defence lawyer Hanipa Maidin, Visva responded that it was in Selangor.

To this, Hanipa interjected: "That is Kepong, not Bukit Kepong!".

Mat Sabu, 57, from Guar Petai, Tasek Gelugor, is charged with defaming policemen and their family members who defended themselves in an attack by communist guerrillas at the Bukit Kepong police station on Feb 23, 1950.

He is alleged to have committed the offence in a public address at Pusat Asuhan Tadika Islam  Al-Fahmi, Markas Tarbiyah PAS in Padang Menora, Tasek Gelugor, between 10pm and midnight on Aug 23, 2011.

 The charge under Section 500 of the Penal Code carries a two-year jail term or a fine or both upon conviction.

Mat Sabu is represented by Muhammed Hanipa Maidin, Nasar Khan Mirbas Khan and Aminuddin Zulkifli, while deputy public prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abd Karim is prosecuting.

The court set June 13, 16 and 17 for the hearing to continue.