GEORGE TOWN – DAP trio Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, his son Lim Guan Eng and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok have won their joint defamation suit against PAS’ Kepala Batas MP Siti Mastura Muhammad over her claims alleging the Lim family have ties to the late Malaya Communist Party leader Chin Peng.
The court ruled that Siti Mastura’s remarks – which were made during a 2023 speech in Kemaman, Terengganu and went viral on social media – were defamatory, extreme and devoid of evidence.
Justice Datuk Quay Chew Soon awarded a total sum of RM 750,000 to the trio, with Kit Siang to receive RM 300,000, RM250,000 for Guan Eng and RM200,000 for Kok.
Quay also imposed a 5% annual interest should the Kepala Batas MP fail to pay the amounts and ordered her to pay RM25,000 each in costs to the three DAP leaders.
In his ruling, Quay said that Mastura’s impugned statement was also reckless and inflammatory, and her actions in publishing the impugned statement were “grossly negligent”
He also said that Mastura, being an MP and a public figure, should have been more circumspect in her speech so as not to cross the line and defame the plaintiffs.
Quay also pointed out that Mastura’s action in changing the surname of Singapore’s late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew to “Lim” in her speech to support her narrative linking Lim’s family to Kuan Yew has “further manifested bad faith on the part of the defendant”
He also said that Mastura ignored Kit Siang’s denial of similar allegations which was easily accessible on the internet, referring to Malaysiakini’s article on January 5, 2017, titled, “I am not Chin Peng’s cousin, says Kit Siang”.
“Notwithstanding the public availability of the same (article), (the) defendant insisted on authoring the impugned words.
“Despite holding a PhD and having cognisance of good practice guidelines in research methodology, (the) defendant chose to disseminate unfounded information based solely on the Barisan Nasional (BN) campaign book.
“The publication of the campaign book was in question due to the absence of crucial details. For instance, there is no year of publication, no author, no publisher and no ISBN or ISSN number attributed to the same publication.
“Therefore, the campaign book lacks veracity and cannot be considered credible. Yet, (the) defendant blindly relied on the campaign book,” added Quay.
The judge also pointed out that Mastura failed to call upon the maker of the campaign book, Bahan Kempen Barisan Nasional, as a witness to testify as to its contents. Therefore, the campaign book remains as a Part C document, which are documents disputed for their authenticity, existence and contents.
The judge also disagreed with the defendant’s submission that given the fact that BN ruled the country for more than 60 years and has vast experience and resources, any material produced by a ruling party should be accepted as an official document by the government.
This is because the campaign book’s authenticity is yet to be proven and its origin remains a mystery, as a top official from Umno has previously disavowed the campaign book
He also asserted that even if the campaign book is genuine, the defendant should not simply regurgitate what is stated as facts, as the defendant should have verified the information first.
Quay also said that Mastura’s assertion of moral and social responsibility as the basis of making the impugned statement is unsustainable as there is no evidence the plaintiffs were communists, closeted communists, or had pursued any evil intent to destroy the democratic fabric of Malaysia and the Federal Constitution.
“While public interest in political debate is recognised, it does not grant carte blanche to make misleading statements that damage another person’s reputation,” he added.
Datuk Sankara Nair, RSN Rayer, Jaden Phoon and Wong Guo Jin represented the plaintiffs, while Yusfarizal Yusoff, Faizi Che Abu, Nur Iffah Hizwani Omar and Amie Sharif Khairul Faizi represented Mastura.
The suits were initially filed separately by Guan Eng, Kit Siang and Kok in November last year but were later consolidated into a joint trial.
Kit Siang and Guan Eng had filed suits against Mastura for alleging they had blood ties with late Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng and former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. Mastura had also claimed that Kok is a cousin of Guan Eng’s wife, Betty Chew.
It was reported on May 15 that the trio’s suit against the PAS MP will go to trial after a mediation session held on that day failed to reach any resolution. – December 4, 2024