Taib Mahmud vs Malaysiakini proceeds to trial
Aidila RazakPublished: May 9, 2011 3:47 AM | Updated: May 10, 2011 1:33 AM
The defamation suit by Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud against news portal Malaysiakini will proceed to trial.
The defamation suit by Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud against news portal Malaysiakini will proceed to trial.
This follows the Federal Court's rejection of Taib's application for leave to appeal a Court of Appeal decision not to remove three out of four paragraphs he wanted struck off from the defence.
In their unanimous decision today, the bench comprising judges Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, Zulkifli Ahmad Makimuddin and Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff also awarded costs of RM10,000 to the news portal and the co-defendant, editor-in-chief Steven Gan.
The trial date will be set upon case management in the High Court.
Taib had sought to appeal the Jan 3 Court of Appeal decision that allowed three out of four paragraphs in Malaysiakini's defence that he had objected to.
The suit, filed in 2007, is over a series of articles highlighting reports about Japanese authorities arresting members of a shipping cartel transporting logs from Sarawak.
The cartel members had allegedly paid Regent Star, a Hong Kong-based paper manufacturing company reportedly linked to Taib and his family, RM32 million in kickbacks.
The issue had also been reported by numerous news organisations in Japan and elsewhere. Malaysiakini followed up with its own special report on the matter, 'RM32 mil kickbacks - tip of the iceberg'.
Of the four paragraphs in contention, the appellate court only allowed the Sarawak strongman's application to strike out one paragraph in the defence - that the chief minister's suit was an abuse of the court process.
The three paragraphs that remain intact are paragraph 16, which outlines Malaysiakini's justification for the article, paragraph 18 which concerns comments by the readers, and paragraph 19, which describes Archipelago Shipping's alleged connection with Abdul Taib's family.
Abdul Taib is seeking an unspecified amount in general damages, aggravated and/or exemplary damages.
This follows the Federal Court's rejection of Taib's application for leave to appeal a Court of Appeal decision not to remove three out of four paragraphs he wanted struck off from the defence.
In their unanimous decision today, the bench comprising judges Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, Zulkifli Ahmad Makimuddin and Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff also awarded costs of RM10,000 to the news portal and the co-defendant, editor-in-chief Steven Gan.
The trial date will be set upon case management in the High Court.
Taib had sought to appeal the Jan 3 Court of Appeal decision that allowed three out of four paragraphs in Malaysiakini's defence that he had objected to.The suit, filed in 2007, is over a series of articles highlighting reports about Japanese authorities arresting members of a shipping cartel transporting logs from Sarawak.
The cartel members had allegedly paid Regent Star, a Hong Kong-based paper manufacturing company reportedly linked to Taib and his family, RM32 million in kickbacks.
The issue had also been reported by numerous news organisations in Japan and elsewhere. Malaysiakini followed up with its own special report on the matter, 'RM32 mil kickbacks - tip of the iceberg'.
Of the four paragraphs in contention, the appellate court only allowed the Sarawak strongman's application to strike out one paragraph in the defence - that the chief minister's suit was an abuse of the court process.
The three paragraphs that remain intact are paragraph 16, which outlines Malaysiakini's justification for the article, paragraph 18 which concerns comments by the readers, and paragraph 19, which describes Archipelago Shipping's alleged connection with Abdul Taib's family.
Abdul Taib is seeking an unspecified amount in general damages, aggravated and/or exemplary damages.
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