KUALA LUMPUR – The George Town High Court ordered Kepala Batas MP Siti Mastura Muhammad today to file her statement of defence before or on January 11, 2024 in relation to the lawsuits filed against her by three DAP leaders.
The lawsuits filed separately by DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng, his father Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok Suh Sim, as plaintiffs on November 27, are linked to Siti Mastura’s speech during the political speech on November 4 during the Kemaman by-election.
Lawyer Datuk S.N. Nair, who is representing all three plaintiffs, said the court also instructed them to file replies to the defence before or on January 26, 2024.
“The court has set February 9, 2024 for further case management,” he said on Whatsapp after case management was done via e-Review in front of senior asst registrar Tunku Intan Nadiah Tunku Mohammed Nazarin.
The three plaintiffs were also represented by lawyers Jaden Phoon Wai Ken and Wong Guo Jin, while lawyer Mohamad Hakim Faharmi Hassan acted as Siti Mastura’s counsel.
The three plaintiffs have claimed that Siti Mastura made defamatory statements about them being related to Chin Peng, the long deceased leader of the Malayan Communist Party, as well as former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, alleging they had links to the Communist Party, as well as supported, practised and spread communist ideology.
The three politicians stressed that the defendant’s claims are baseless, false and with ill-intent as they deliberately associated them with the Communist Party and Chin Peng.
“The defendant’s actions were motivated by deceit to garner publicity to boost her political party’s image,” the three plaintiffs said in their statement of claim, in which they seek general damages, aggravated damages and exemplary damages as well as an injunction to prevent the defendant from further publishing the same statement. – December 19, 2023