M’sia High Court orders ex-PM Muhyiddin to pay RM1.35 million to Lim Guan Eng over defamation

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The High Court has ruled that former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin must pay RM1.35 million (approximately US$307,902) in damages to former finance minister Lim Guan Eng for defamation.

The judgment followed a decision by Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain on Friday (8 November), which found that Lim had successfully proven his case against Muhyiddin.

The case arose from three Facebook posts made by Muhyiddin in March 2023, where he falsely claimed that Lim, who served as finance minister from May 2018 until the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration in February 2020, had been involved in revoking the tax exemption granted to Yayasan Albukhary (Albukhary Foundation), a non-profit charitable organisation.

These claims were later published in various newspapers and news portals.

“This has been a case of considerable public importance, involving two prominent political figures, and touching on sensitive issues of race and religion in our multicultural society,” said Roz Mawar in her ruling.

She emphasised that Muhyiddin’s statements were not only false but also potentially damaging to Malaysia’s social fabric, especially by linking the issue to race and religion.

The court awarded Lim RM1.5 million in total, which includes RM1.35 million for general damages related to the defamatory statements, plus RM150,000 in aggravated damages and RM150,000 in exemplary damages.

The court also imposed a cost of RM50,000 on Muhyiddin and ordered him to retract and cease republishing the defamatory statements.

In her judgment, Roz Mawar found that Muhyiddin’s defences, including justification, fair comment, and qualified privilege, were “unsustainable.”

The defendant had failed to provide any factual basis for his allegations, despite having the resources to verify the information.

The judge also noted that Muhyiddin’s remarks appeared to have been strategically timed to divert attention from his own corruption charges.

Lim, who is currently the chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bagan, was described by the court as a credible witness, delivering evidence in a clear and straightforward manner.

The court concluded that there was no justification for the defamatory statements, stating that Muhyiddin failed to prove the truth of his allegations.

Muhyiddin did not attend court session.

Muhyiddin to appeal court decision on defamation lawsuit

Muhyiddin, who currently serves as the leader of the Malaysian opposition party BERSATU and MP for Pagoh, was represented by lawyer Chetan Jethwani.

Muhyiddin was Malaysia’s 8th PM, who served during March 2020 till August 2021

Jethwani confirmed that an appeal against the decision would be filed.

Lim’s lawsuit, filed on 27 March 2023, alleged that the defamatory statements, made by Muhyiddin on 9, 11, and 12 March 2023, falsely implied that Lim had abused his position to revoke Albukhary’s tax exemption.

Lim denied the accusations, stating that the revocation had occurred during Muhyiddin’s tenure as PM.

Following the court’s ruling, Lim addressed the media, urging political leaders to refrain from spreading falsehoods for political gain.

“The judgment clearly stated that Muhyiddin’s statements about me were false and baseless,” he said.

“He failed to provide any evidence for his accusations and continued to repeat them despite knowing they were untrue.”

Lim’s claims were further supported by PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who confirmed that finance ministry records showed Lim had no involvement in the revocation of Yayasan Albukhary’s tax-exempt status.