PUTRAJAYA:Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos lost his appeal to strike out a defamation suit filed against him by former Primary Indusries Minister Teresa Kok Suh Kim over alleged misuse of Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor (Yawas) funds.

A Court of Appeal three-member panel, comprising Justices Datuk Suraya Othman, Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and S.Nantha Balan, today dismissed Jamal's appeal and ordered him to pay RM7,000 costs to Kok.

The appeal hearing was conducted via Zoom. Lawyers V. Mugunthan and Mohammad Fauzi Abdul Samad appeared for Jamal ,while Datuk Sankara Nair, Tan Han Sam and Elyse Ng Zi Qian represented Kok.

Sankara said following the dismissal of the appeal today, the case will proceed for full trial in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

He said the High Court set Jan 3 next year for case management to fix the trial dates.

Mugunthan, when contacted, confirmed the court’s decision.

Jamal was appealing against the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision,  delivered  last Jan 3, which dismissed his application to strike out the suit.

He filed the application on April 25 last year on grounds that there was no reasonable basis for Kok's claim.

Kok, who is also Seputeh Member of Parliament, filed the suit on April 6, 2017, over Jamal’s alleged defamatory statement pertaining to Yawas’ funds during a news conference on March 8, 2017.

In the statement of claim, Kok stated that the statement was published by the print and electronic media, as well as on Jamal’s Facebook page.

She claimed that the defamatory statement, among others, gave the impression that she had misused state government funds for her own use and was an unethical person.

She is seeking RM1 million in general damages, compensatory damages, aggravated damages and exemplary damages, and an injunction to prevent Jamal from making further such claims in the media.

-- BERNAMA