PUTRAJAYA — Former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng failed in his appeal today over his defamation suit against MCA vice-president Datuk Tan Teik Cheng and the English daily, The Star.
The Court of Appeal’s three-judge panel consisting Justices Datuk See Mee Chun, Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, unanimously dismissed Lim’s appeal, ruling that it has no merits.
The court also ordered Lim to pay RM30,000 to Tan and RM40,000 to The Star Media Group Berhad in legal costs.
Justice Ahmad Kamal, who delivered the court’s decision, said the statement made by Tan, which The Star published, was not defamatory.
He said the court found that Tan’s article, including the statement in question, was a matter of public interest and Tan had merely called on Lim to provide an explanation on allegations that Lim had not denied.
The issue involved is a RM4 million allocation to a Chinese school and a change of the school’s name.
Justice Ahmad Kamal said a reasonable man reading the final sentence in Tan’s statement would assume that an explanation would be forthcoming from Lim on the matter.
He said it was open to Lim to respond by submitting a letter-in-reply to the “Letter to the Editor” section of The Star online, which would have allowed him to address the issue.
Justice Ahmad Kamal said the appellate court found no errors in law or fact in the findings of the Penang High Court that had previously dismissed Lim’s lawsuit in June 2023.
He also said The Star had published the statement fairly and neutrally, without any embellishments.
Lim, a former DAP secretary-general, sued Tan and The Star Media Group over Tan’s opinion piece published in the “Letter to the Editor” section of The Star online.
Tan demanded Lim explain a claim that RM4 million from the federal treasury had been given to a Chinese primary school in Johor on condition that the school change its name.
Lim was represented by lawyers K.Simon Murali and Kok Yuen Lin, while lawyers Ng Kian Nam, Hemananthini Chellakanna Pillai appeared for Tan. Lawyers Abdullah Abdul Rahman and Deanna Ternisha represented The Star. – December 6, 2024