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Politician threatens lawsuit against critic over Trump saga
Sparking controversy: House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon asks Imam Shamsi Ali, 64, a Muslim leader and the chairman of the Al-Hikmah Mosque in New York, the US, to correct Facebook comments that he deemed slanderous about a recent meeting between him, House Speaker Setya Novanto and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
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Sparking controversy: House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon asks Imam Shamsi Ali, 64, a Muslim leader and the chairman of the Al-Hikmah Mosque in New York, the US, to correct Facebook comments that he deemed slanderous about a recent meeting between him, House Speaker Setya Novanto and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. (Courtesy of Youtube) (Courtesy of Youtube)
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span class="inline inline-center">Sparking controversy: House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon asks Imam Shamsi Ali, 64, a Muslim leader and the chairman of the Al-Hikmah Mosque in New York, the US, to correct Facebook comments that he deemed slanderous about a recent meeting between him, House Speaker Setya Novanto and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. (Courtesy of Youtube)
House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon on Sunday lambasted statements of Imam Shamsi Ali, 47, a renowned Muslim leader and the chairman of the Al-Hikmah Mosque in New York, the US, who criticized a recent meeting between Fadli, House Speaker Setya Novanto and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. He also threatened to file a lawsuit against the Muslim scholar.
Fadli asserted that he had objections and could not accept comments Shamsi posted on his Facebook account. The latter said the presence of Fadli and Setya at a press conference held by Trump on the sidelines of a campaign event in New York on Thursday showed House leaders' support for the business tycoon who is set to run for the US presidency.
'There is no such support. Do you think we have the voice or influence to support a US presidential candidate? Donald Trump has not yet made his candidacy official. He is an individual who is striving to get support from the Republican Party. It was not a campaign but a press conference, which was held in the lobby of Trump Plaza, his own building,' said Fadli as quoted by Tribunnews.com in Jakarta on Sunday.
The Gerindra Party politician went on to say that the event occurred after a House delegation, including Setya, attended a closed-door meeting with Trump on the 26th floor of Trump Plaza, New York. When the delegation members walked through the lobby, they saw a large crowd including Trump, who was holding a press conference with pamphlets indicating his presidential aspirations.
'The lobby was totally filled with journalists and his [Trump's] staff members. [...] We then watched the press conference until it finished because the access road to the exit door was blocked by so many people,' said Fadli.
The politician further said he was offended by Shamsi's statement that Trump received Setya and his entourage for only three minutes.
'It's slander. If you wrote your Facebook comments based only on a TV broadcast, you must mention it. You have humiliated us by saying that Trump received us only for three minutes just to show our faces on his stage. You have made a conclusion without first investigating what we had previously talked about with Trump before the press conference. You don't know that there was a meeting before the event,' said Fadli.
He said Shamsi must correct his Facebook comments that had spread on social media. 'Otherwise, I will file a lawsuit against him for allegedly violating the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law. I will appoint my lawyer.' (ebf)
