C4 Center Apologises to Rosli Dahlan for Falsehood and Slander
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) is an NGO that declares itself to fight corruption and government abuses. Its principal is Cynthia Gabriel and its other directors are Dato’ Hjh Sutinah binti Sutan, Prof. Dr. Edmund Terence Gomez and Azrul Mohd Khalib.
On 25.3.2021, C4 Center posted on its website, Twitter and Facebook page, a false and highly defamatory story about Rosli Dahlan. That story had gone viral and taken a life of its own that vilified Rosli Dahlan which brought scorn, ridicule and hatred against him.
By a cease and desist letter dated 29.3.2021, Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership (RDS) issued a demand to C4 Center. Immediately, C4 Center deleted the false and defamatory posts. C4 Center’s solicitors also admitted that C4 Center’s postings on Rosli Dahlan were false and defamatory
In affirming its regret over the falsehood and slander, C4 has issued and published its unreserved, unequivoca
l and unconditional public apology on its website, Twitter and Facebook page, which is reproduced in full below:
APOLOGY BY C4 CENTER TO LAWYER ROSLI DAHLAN
C4 Center, an NGO that combats corruption and cronyism and an advocate of a clean, competent governance system, hereby make this unreserved, unequivocal and unconditional apology to Lawyer Rosli Dahlan in respect of a posting made on C4 Center’s
website, Facebook and Twitter on 25.3.2021 (“the Posts”). We truly regret the making of the Posts.
We deeply apologize that our Posts had wrongly, unfairly and seriously injured Lawyer Rosli Dahlan’s character, integrity, credit and reputation and could well have eroded the confidence of the public in him. We accept that our Posts have also brought him into public scandal, odium, contempt and disrepute exposing him to hatred and ridicule and lowered him in the estimation of the public.
We admit the falsity of the said Posts and acknowledge their effects and upon his demand on 29.3.2021, we immediately removed the said Posts from our website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. We acknowledge that the said False Posts have taken a life of its own and had been reproduced, republished, reposted, retweeted and shared causing it to go viral on v
arious other platforms.
We hereby express our deep remorse for our wrongful conduct and the damage caused to Lawyer Rosli Dahlan. To further vindicate the damage that we have caused to him, we hereby make the following statements:
a) That the said Posts were plainly highly defamatory, false and baseless;
b) That we had failed to verify the said Posts;
c) That there was no basis to allege that Lawyer Rosli Dahlan had illegally, unlawfully, unjustly and unduly profited by pocketing monies in connection with the 1MDB asset recovery efforts;
d) That there was no basis to allege or imply that Lawyer Rosli Dahlan had defrauded the Malaysian Public by pocketing monies intended to settle 1MDB’s liabilities.
We further state that we truly regret that we have stained the reputation of Lawyer Rosli Dahlan who by all accounts is an honest and a morally upright citizen, and has a good reputation for being a highly professional and ethical lawyer who strives to maintain a high standard of transparency, integrity and virtue.
C4 Center deeply regrets the dishonour that we had caused him, his family and his law firm and we hereby wholeheartedly denounce the said Posts in their entirety. For this C4 Center and its Directors sincerely apologise to Lawyer Rosli Dahlan.
Cynthia Gabriel
Director of C4 Center
For and on behalf of all the Directors of C4 Center
Reported by The Edge
July 2, 2021