KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 – PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa today lost his RM10-million defamation suit against the New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd (NSTP) and four others over an article in relation to his posts in the party and government.
Husam’s counsel Zulqarnain Lukman told reporters that High Court Judicial Commissioner Lee Heng Cheong ruled in chambers that the article was not defamatory.
Zulqarnain said Lee also held that if the article was defamatory, the court found that the defendants’ defence of qualified privilege and responsible journalism was applicable in the case.
He said the court also found that Husam had failed to establish his case against the defendants and ordered him to pay RM20,000 in costs to the defendants.
The court made the decision after hearing the testimony of three witnesses for Husam and two for the defendants.
In 2010, Husam filed the suit against NSTP, its two reporters Shuhada Elis and Nik Imran Abdullah, former NST group editor Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun and the then NSTP group managing editor Datuk Zainul Arifin Mohammed Isa.
In his statement of claim, Husam said the defendants had written and published with malice an article on Nov 23, 2009, over his posts to injure his reputation.
He had sought RM10 million in damages, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.
The defendants, in their statement of defence, denied that the words published were defamatory and that the article was published on an occasion of qualified privilege.
Counsel Lim Qi Si and Wee Jason represented the defendants.
– BERNAMA
