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 Malaysia granted businessman and social media figure Aliff Syukri Kamaruzaman permission to postpone his apology to former Minister Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir in a RM30 million investment dispute. Aliff Syukri's legal counsel, Mahmud Abdul Jumaat, affirmed the order after a hearing on the stay of execution before Judge Roslan Mat Nor.

The court stayed both the apology and expungement directives, as mandated by Judge Roslan on April 29, pending the Court of Appeal's decision. Additionally, the court authorized depositing RM250,000 in damages with Abdul Kadir's lawyer during the appeal process. However, the court denied Aliff Syukri's request for a stay on the order prohibiting him from disseminating additional defamatory content.

On April 29, Judge Roslan mandated Aliff Syukri to compensate Abdul Kadir RM250,000, awarding Abdul Kadir RM50,000 in costs, barring Aliff Syukri from publishing more defamatory posts, and instructing him to eliminate all defamatory social media content within a week. Abdul Kadir, aged 86, initiated the lawsuit on September 6, 2023, alleging that Aliff Syukri, 39, a prominent entertainment personality with a considerable following, had made disparaging remarks about him via Instagram and Facebook on July 2, 2023.

The plaintiff contended that the statements suggested Aliff Syukri owed him millions and that his reputation suffered due to the negative feedback generated. Aliff Syukri's defense asserted that he had invested RM30 million under a joint venture agreement signed on November 26, 2018, involving both parties and two companies. He further contended that the invested amount remained unrecovered and that Abdul Kadir was aware of all contractual breaches.