Murray Hunter ordered to pay RM50,000 in damages to MRCB over articles

In a recent court ruling, blogger Murray Hunter has been ordered to pay RM50,000 in damages to Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) for publishing a series of articles in collaboration with an activist. The articles targeted the demolition and redevelopment of the Shah Alam Stadium. On August 18, judicial commissioner Shoba Rajah Dorai Rajah ruled in favor of MRCB, awarding them RM10,000 in costs and granting an injunction against Hunter, who failed to attend the court proceedings.

MRCB had secured a consent judgment against the activist, Abdul Razak Ismail, in June after both parties reached a settlement. Ismail was ordered to permanently refrain from publishing or republishing the allegations that were the basis of the lawsuit. In her grounds of judgment, Shoba concluded that MRCB had proven the four elements of conspiracy and had successfully established its case against Hunter through a balance of probabilities.

The court found that evidence presented by two senior MRCB officers supported the allegations, and they were not disputed by Hunter during the trial. Furthermore, the court acknowledged that MRCB had suffered damages due to the impugned conduct and publications, and that Hunter had not verified the information before publishing it, nor had he corrected the articles subsequently.