PAS paid her RM1.4mil? Rewcastle Brown says no comment till Anwar shows proof

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown says she will not comment on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's claim that PAS paid RM1.4mil to settle Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's libel suit against her out of court.

She said she would only do so if he produced the documents he claimed he had.

"I am not commenting on the settlement as that was the terms of the agreement, although I note that PAS leaders appear to be making comments on the settlement that are designed to create misleading impressions contrary to their own commitments," she said.

She did not specify what she meant by that.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had previously claimed that he had evidence to show that PAS paid the sum to settle a lawsuit between its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Sarawak Report.

The PKR president said he was in possession of the bank statements that showed the amount  paid to the website's editor Clare Rewcastle Brown.

"My name is Anwar Ibrahim. If I do not have the facts, I would not fight.

"But I have the facts and the evidence that PAS had to pay RM1.4mil to Clare.

"I will show the bank statement soon. Which bank? I will reveal later.

"The amount? RM1.4mil," Anwar said.

In 2017, Abdul Hadi sued Rewcastle Brown for libel in London over an August 2016 Sarawak Report article alleging that PAS received RM90mil to guarantee its support for Umno and Barisan Nasional.

She filed a counterclaim in October 2017 and on Feb 1 this year, Abdul Hadi opted for an out-of-court settlement.