Penang MIC Youth J Dhinagaran is to be issued a notice of demand for an apology and to retract his allegation of corruption against three Penang municipal councillors within 24 hours.

He had implicated councillors Ong Ah Teong, Tahir Jalaluddin and Prem Anand in a case purported to involve a widow who had sought a licence to operate a recycling business from a residence. Any such activity is prohibited by law.

NONELawyer Jagdeep Singh Deo (left) said the demand letter - also seeking damages which will be decided by the court - will be delivered today to Dhinagaran’s office in Gelugor.

A separate demand letter in the name of each councillor will be sent, as Dhinagaran had targeted one councillor without revealing the identity.

"If we send a (joint) notice by three persons, Dhinagaran will come back to say he has evidence in relation to one," Jagdeep told a press conference today.

"As long as he does not say who that one person is, all three are tainted by his allegations. In this way, we will sniff out the evidence if ever there is (any).

“This is not a poker game, these are serious allegations that have been festering too long, and all three councillors have stood by their denial.”

NONEOn Jan 11, Dhinagaran (right) had claimed at a press conference that he has evidence of a councillor receiving bribe, and he repeated his allegation on Jan 19.

"Ong had challenged Dhinagaran to come forward if he has such evidence so that the police can pursue investigations ... but I think that has not been done yet,” said Jagdeep.

Dhinagaran had also said that, if the councillor involved does not come clean, he would lodge a police report, said Jagdeep, noting that this has not been done to date.

"We have come to a situation where everything is in limbo, so the councillors have requested that we initiate legal proceedings," he explained.

Jagdeep is representing Ong, while lawyers RSN Rayer and Simon Muraly will respectively act for Prem and Tahir.

Councillor ‘hurt’ by allegation

Ong said he and his family, including two school-going children, feel hurt by the allegation.

He urged Dhinagaran not to resort to "cheap publicity” but to lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the police if he has evidence.

NONE"I have been entrusted by the state government to carry out my duties as a councillor in charge of the licensing department,” said Ong (left).

"These accusations are bad and hurtful as I am dealing with millions of ringgit for licence applications and renewals every year.

"Every day, people ask me if the allegations are true. They even joke that these days, people can pay money to get licences. The claims have truly tarnished my image.”

When contacted today, Dhinagaran refused to apologise or retract his allegation.

"Why should I do that when I have solid evidence to back my claim? Let them send the legal notice. They are not doing their homework.

The whole of Penang island already knows who the culprit is, so why is DAP pretending it does not know?" he asked.

"Instead of threatening me, please do your homework and deal with the culprit. If I really reveal the CCTV footage (in hand), will Jagdeep resign from the DAP?"

Asked why he has yet to lodge a police report if he has evidence, Dhinagaran said he wants the state government - which claims to practice CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) - to take action.