Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily

PETALING JAYA, Feb 22 -- Some irresponsible people recently put up malicious posts online against Sin Chew Daily's executive chief editor Kuik Cheng Kang, alleging him to have accepted the gift of a bungalow and a semi-detached house in Puchong from IOI Corp executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng at the request of former MCA president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting.

Kuik has lodged a police report.

In addition, Kuik said he would also file a report with the MCMC in a bid to pick out individuals who had posted the slanderous article, quoted it on their blogs, or forwarded it in their Facebook sites.

Kuik said he also contemplated other actions such as civil suits against forwarders of the slanderous article on Facebook.

He denied the allegation, and regretted that such an ill-intentioned article had been posted online.

"Many who have forwarded the article on Facebook are actually involved in business rivalry with Sin Chew Daily, while the others have hardly any clue of the real situation.

"I want to ask these people, when you forwarded the article at a click of the mouse, did it ever flash past your mind that what you did could do so much harm to a person whom you do not know nor understand? Did you give me a chance to defend myself?

"I would rather you take my life than committing such a character assassination against me.

"Such rumour has made my parents very worried. Why must you hurt the vulnerable old people this way?"

He recalled during the MCA infighting in 2009, someone posted an anonymous article in English on Malaysiakini.com against Sin Chew Daily, in which two paragraphs were set aside for the allegation that Kuik had benefited from MCA's Team A for siding it on the newspaper.

The author alleged that Kuik was subsequently rewarded a bungalow and a semi-D by IOI's executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng, a close friend of then MCA president cum housing and local government minister Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting.

When asked why he did not take any action three years ago, Kuik said he did not take the incident too seriously back then as it was sheer fabrication.

"But recently the article was translated into Chinese and posted on a blog dedicated to Sin Chew-bashing, and forwarded by people who had something against Sin Chew on Facebook."

Kuik felt this was a development we should seriously look into, and take necessary actions to check such acts of character assassination.

He stressed that the allegation against him was totally baseless and untrue.

"I indeed have two houses in Puchong, but they are only two adjoined link houses, one of which bought way back in 1995. So, it couldn't have been a gift from either Ong Ka Ting or Lee Shin Cheng."

He lamented that these irresponsible people had tried to project him as a dishonest journalist who accepted bribes and abused his power, through the article.

When contacted, Petaling Jaya district police chief Assistant Commissioner Arjunaidi Mohamed confirmed that a police report had been lodged, and said the case would be referred to the MCMC for further probe.

"I did not give him houses"

IOI Corporation Berhad executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng today denied that he had offered a bungalow and a semi-D to Sin Chew Daily's executive chief editor Kuik Cheng Kang at the request of former MCA president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting.

He regretted that the rumour had spread across the cyber space by irresponsible individuals.

"This is very unfair to Mr Kuik, Tan Sri Ong and myself."

Lee told Sin Chew Daily, "I totally deny this thing. No such thing at all. You go and tell these people, if they don't believe, they can always come and ask me in person."

He said he only learned today that Kuik had two houses in Puchong, adding that from what he knew, Kuik never revealed his identity nor asked for discounts when purchasing the houses.

See: Malicious blog removed