Malaysiakini fails to strike out Taib’s defamation suit

Malaysiakini fails to strike out Taib’s defamation suit
Posted on March 18, 2011, Friday

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysiakini yesterday failed to strike out a defamation suit by Sarawak Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud after the High Court here dismissed its application.

Justice Datuk John Louis O’hara said after looking at the defendant’s submission, the court found that the constitutional issue raised by Malaysiakini that there ‘can never be cause of action’ was baseless and it was not an abuse of the court process.

The judge said that he arrived at the decision after looking at provisions of the Defamation Act and the Federal Constitution. He also ordered Mkini Dotcom which owned the online news portal to pay costs of RM10,000 to Taib, the plaintiff. However, the judge did not set the date for hearing of the defamation suit. In 2007, Taib filed the suit after Malaysiakini ran a series of 12 articles from April 6 to May 3, 2007 which he claimed contained defamatory words against him.

Mkini Dotcom was represented by counsel K Shanmuga and Fahri Azzat, while counsel YeeMei Ken was for Taib.

In his statement of claim, Taib named Mkini Dotcom and Malaysiakini editor-inchief Gan Diong Keng, also known as Steven Gan, as defendants.

He said defamatory words in the articles in their natural meaning and ordinary meaning were understood among others, that he had amassed illegal monies of RM32 million from unlawful activities pertaining to the timber trade in Sarawak and had committed a criminal act and was liable for criminal prosecution.

Taib said he had instructed his solicitors to issue a letter of demand to the defendants but they failed and refused to comply with the terms stated.

He is seeking general and aggravated damages, interests, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.

The defendants replied in their statement of defence that the words in the articles were published on occasion of qualified privilege.

The defendants stated that the plaintiff had acquiesced in the publication of the articles by substantially reproducing the words and matters complained of, by means of a personal statement to the Sarawak State Assembly on May 14, 2007.

They claimed that the personal statement was subsequently reproduced in full by a widely circulated newspaper in a Sarawak local daily, on May 15, 2007. — Bernama