Rahayu Mahzam intends to take legal action over alleged defamatory online post by academic

Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, and Health, Rahayu Mahzam, stated on 18 October, 2024, that she intends to take legal action following an online post that she believes to be defamatory. The post, written by academic Donald Low, involved allegations about her role in the Committee of Privileges (COP), which investigated former Sengkang GRC MP Raeesah Khan for lying in Parliament. Hours before Rahayu’s statement, Donald Low, a senior lecturer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s Institute for Public Policy, made a Facebook post commenting on evidence brought before the State Courts in the ongoing trial of Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh. In his post, Low questioned the credibility of the COP’s findings, particularly in light of recent revelations in court regarding one of the witnesses. The court heard that Loh Pei Ying, a former WP cadre and key witness in the COP’s investigation, had admitted to redacting parts of a text message in documents submitted to the COP in 2021. These redactions, according to Low, cast doubt on the COP's conclusions against Singh. He argued that the case had been built on the testimonies of two witnesses, including Loh, who have since been shown to be unreliable. Low stated in his post*, “It looks like the COP got it wrong,” and added that one of the witnesses admitted to tampering with evidence “apparently with the knowledge of a PAP MP.” He named Rahayu Mahzam, a People’s Action Party (PAP) Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, noting that she was a member of the COP. In her response, Rahayu rejected Low’s assertions, describing them as a serious and unfounded allegation. “The allegation is wholly untrue and appears to be defamatory. I am seeking legal advice and intend to take action,” she wrote on Facebook, emphasising her commitment to challenging the claims legally. The controversy centres around evidence presented on 17 October, when Loh admitted to redacting a message from another WP member, Yudhishthra Nathan, before submitting it to the COP. The message, dated 12 October 2021, discussed Raeesah Khan’s earlier lie to Parliament about a sexual assault case. Nathan suggested that Khan continue with her falsehood, having already misled Parliament in August and October of that year. Loh redacted a portion of Nathan’s message that read, “In the first place, I think we should just not give too many details. At most apologise for not having the facts about her age accurate.” She explained in court that the redaction was done because the content “does not look good on him.” Loh also mentioned that both a senior parliamentary staff member and Rahayu Mahzam reviewed the messages before the redaction. “They read every single message before I redacted it,” she testified. However, she later clarified that the redaction was her own decision, stating, “This redaction is mine,” though she acknowledged that Rahayu would have seen the message. This revelation has become central to Pritam Singh’s trial. Singh, as Leader of the Opposition, faces two charges of allegedly lying to the COP during the investigation. He is accused of misleading the committee about whether or not he advised Raeesah Khan to come clean about the fabricated story she told in Parliament concerning a sexual assault victim. Khan had claimed she accompanied the victim to a police station and witnessed police mishandling the case, but later admitted the story was untrue. The ongoing trial of Pritam Singh continues to receive significant attention, with the credibility of witnesses and the integrity of evidence becoming focal points in the proceedings. *Update on 19 October 2024: Mr Low has removed his Facebook post and apologised for the post.