RI housewife sues Malaysian minister

RI housewife sues Malaysian minister

KUALA LUMPUR: An Indonesian woman filed a defamation suit against
Malaysian Home Minister Azmi Khalid on Thursday, saying he called
her husband a criminal and traitor, the national news agency
reported.

Romita Hasibuan, 37, a Malaysia resident, is seeking 10
million ringgit (US$2.7 million) from Azmi for allegedly making
false statements about her husband that implied he was a
criminal, Bernama news agency said.

Hasibuan's spouse, Abdul Mutalib Taib, an Indonesian national
and permanent resident of Malaysia, was deported to Indonesia in
April on suspected involvement in a syndicate that forged
identity cards.

In her lawsuit filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Hasibuan
claimed Azmi told her in the lobby of Parliament on July 12 that
Taib was "a big-time criminal and a big traitor" and circulated
untrue information about him to reporters there, Bernama said.

No hearings were immediately scheduled.

Hasibuan had apparently been meeting with Azmi in Parliament
to discuss her family's situation, which she has previously
brought to the attention of local human rights groups.

Azmi and his aides could not immediately be reached for
comment.

Hasibuan said Azmi shouldn't have made the remarks because
Taib, 47, was never tried for any crime. However, he was
imprisoned from 1995 to 1997 under a security law allowing
detention without trial.

Hasibuan told reporters she has applied to the government not
to force her to return to Indonesia when her visa expires this
month, as she has four children studying in Malaysia, Bernama
said.

"My children are Malaysian citizens," Hasibuan was quoted as
saying by Bernama. "They were born (here) and go to school here.
If they are sent to Indonesia, they might have difficulty
understanding the language there." -- AP