Khairy goes to court to unmask writer of allegedly defamatory article

Former Malaysian health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has taken legal action against MYNIC Bhd, the .my domain registrar, seeking to uncover the identity of the writer behind an allegedly defamatory article. The newspaper report in New Straits Times reveals that Khairy filed a civil case against MYNIC to reveal the registered owner's details for the focusmalaysia.my domain, following the March 10 publication of the article "10 Reasons Why KJ Isn’t PM Material, Malaysians Must Carefully Examine His Past Track Record" under the pseudonym "pemerhati rasuah" (corruption observer). The writer's identity remained unknown and untraceable without going to court, according to Khairy.

Khairy's legal team sent a demand letter to Focus Malaysia Sdn Bhd on March 13, but the company denied owning the website, claiming it had divested its operations around 2018. MYNIC has confirmed it holds the ownership records, stating it would not object to revealing them if ordered by the court. The registrar holds the domain's ownership since March 10 and has not changed until June 18, when Khairy filed his application.

However, MYNIC objected to Khairy's request for correspondence between the domain registrant, the registered party, and the accredited registrar, arguing that such materials were irrelevant and unnecessary for the defamation proceedings. MYNIC maintained its innocent third-party status and applied for indemnity against any potential costs or liability from complying with a disclosure order.