KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 – The High Court today ordered Utusan Melayu (M) Berhad to pay RM250,000 in general and exemplary damages to former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin after a finding that the daily had defamed him with an article regarding his comments on the Sultan of Johor’s bid for the registration plate WWW1.
Judge Rosnaini Saub ordered Utusan to also pay RM30,000 in cost and interest.
In her judgement, Rosnaini said Mohammad Nizar was entitled to the compensation as the article had tarnished his reputation and image.
She added that by not attempting to obtain an explanation or verification from the plaintiff before publishing the article, Utusan Malaysia had failed to practice responsible journalism.
“We may question the wisdom of the plaintiff’s action of criticising the bid for the WWW1 number plate, but that doesn’t mean the defendant can twist the story into something defamatory to the plaintiff,” stressed Rosnaini.
Mohammad Nizar filed the suit on July 10 last year after Utusan Malaysia published an article on his Twitter comments regarding the Sultan of Johor’s RM520,000 bid for the registration number WWW1.
In his statement of claim, Mohammad Nizar stated that on May 28 he posted a statement on the vehicle number plate on his Twitter account and that on May 31 Utusan Melayu published an article on the matter on page 11 of the Utusan Malaysia.
He claimed that the alleged defamatory statement had tarnished his image and could be interpreted to mean that he was a traitor to the Malay rulers, especially the Sultan of Johor, a politician who was anti-royalty and who instigated the people to hate the Sultan of Johor.
Mohammad Nizar was represented by lawyers Mohamad Zamri Ibrahim and Mohd Fitri Asmuni while Datuk Firoz Hussein Jamaludin appeared for Utusan.
– BERNAMA
