Mahkamah Rayuan ketepi ganti rugi RM50,000 kes saman fitnah Guan Eng
Panel tiga hakim sebulat suara benar rayuan Zuraida Kamaruddin, editor MalaysiaNow dan MNow Media Sdn Bhd.
Putrajaya: The High Court's decision has been overturned by the Court of Appeal, which dismissed Malaysia United Nations (MNow) Media's appeal and upheld the RM50,000 damages award against former Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and two others. The three-judge panel, comprising Mohd Firuz Jaffril, Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, and Amarjeet Singh, unanimously ruled after validating Zuraida's appeal, editor for MalaysiaNow, Muhammad Abd Ar-Rahman Koya, and MNow Media Sdn Bhd.
They also rejected Lim Guan Eng's counter-appeal to increase the damages amount, and ordered him to pay legal costs of RM30,000. In delivering the decision, Mohd Firuz stated that the High Court's judgment contained a clear lack of implied meaning as claimed by Lim. "We found a clear breach in the High Court's ruling, and consequently, the ruling cannot be upheld," he added, expressing dissatisfaction with the High Court's handling of the defendant's appeal.
Mohd Firuz noted that the final analysis of the court indicated that the High Court's assessment of the defendant's defense was based solely on documents, rather than on what transpired between the two ministers at the time of their meeting. Mohd Firuz also mentioned inconsistent evidence, as the High Court found intention to defame in one section but found no evidence of intent to defame in another.
On June 7, 2024, Lim filed a defamation suit in the High Court, naming Zuraida, Muhammad Abd Ar-Rahman Koya, and MNow Media as defendants. In his statement of claim, Lim accused Zuraida of making a false statement about his involvement in a housing project for former plantation workers in Bestari Jaya, Selangor. Last month, the High Court ruled in favor of Lim and ordered him to pay RM50,000 in damages to the former Penang Chief Minister.
All three defendants appealed the decision, while Lim submitted an appeal against the damages amount set by the High Court. Earlier, his lawyer SN Nair argued that the RM50,000 damages awarded by the High Court were insufficient and, based on recent developments in the law, the amount should be RM250,000. Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid, who represented the three defendants, contended that the statement made by Zuraida and subsequently published by MNow Media was not defamatory and urged the Court of Appeal to overturn the High Court's decision.
In response, Nair informed the media that he would seek directions from Lim on whether to take the matter to the Federal Court.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
