KUALA LUMPUR — The Court of Appeal has ordered former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to pay RM250,000 in damages to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh after allowing her appeal in a defamation suit.
A three-member bench chaired by Federal Court judge Datuk Azimah Omar, with Court of Appeal judges Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing and Datuk Dr Shahnaz Sulaiman, also awarded RM60,000 in costs to Hannah, local media reported.
“The learned judicial commissioner had erred in her decision when she dismissed Hannah’s lawsuit. We allow the appeal and hereby order the decision to be reversed and set aside,” said Justice Azimah.
Hannah, who was present in court, had appealed against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling on December 23, 2024, which dismissed her suit and ordered her to pay RM40,000 in costs to Musa.
In its unanimous decision, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s findings and ruled in favour of the Segambut Member of Parliament, concluding that the statements made by Musa were defamatory. The panel noted that submissions from both parties had concluded on October 17, 2025.
Hannah first filed the suit in 2020 against the former top cop over remarks he made during a forum held at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) on January 30, 2020. At the time, Hannah was serving as Youth and Sports Minister.
She alleged that Musa, in his speech at the forum, accused her of writing her book Becoming Hannah with the intention of turning Malaysia into a Christian country, claimed she had links with Christian and Jewish missionaries to undermine Islam and the nation, and suggested that she prioritised her personal interests over those of the country.
The High Court had previously dismissed the suit after finding that Hannah failed to establish that the statements were defamatory. That decision has now been set aside by the Court of Appeal. – January 13, 2026