High Court lets Aliff Syukri defer apology to ex-minister Abdul Kadir in RM30m investment suit pending appeal

On August 17, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur granted businessman and cosmetics entrepreneur Datuk Seri Aliff Syukri Kamaruzaman the right to postpone his apology to former Minister Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir in a RM30 million investment debt case. Aliff Syukri's legal representative, Mahmud Abdul Jumaat, affirmed the court's decision during proceedings on the stay of execution before Judge Roslan Mat Nor.

The court upheld the April 29 orders barring Aliff Syukri from paying the apology and expunging defamatory posts, but also allowed RM250,000 in damages to be held by Abdul Kadir's lawyer until the appeal process is completed. The court did not grant Aliff Syukri's request to pause the order prohibiting him from publishing additional defamatory statements.

In April, Judge Roslan ordered Aliff Syukri to pay Abdul Kadir RM250,000 after Abdul Kadir filed a lawsuit on September 6, 2023, alleging that Aliff Syukri had made defamatory comments about him on Instagram and Facebook on July 2, 2023. Abdul Kadir, 86, claimed the statements implied he owed him millions, and that his reputation suffered due to the posts, which garnered negative feedback.

Aliff Syukri, 39, argued he had invested RM30 million under a joint venture agreement signed on November 26, 2018, with two companies, and that the funds were never returned; he also maintained that the plaintiff was aware of all the breaches of promise.