Defamation case: Federal court denies leave, Jamal Yunos pays Teresa Kok RM300,000 damages

PUTRAJAYA: Sungai Besar UMNO division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos has reached the end of the line in his legal battle to overturn a court order requiring him to pay RM300,000 in damages to Seputeh Member of Parliament Teresa Kok Suh Sim.

This followed a decision by a three-member panel of the Federal Court today which dismissed Jamal's application for leave to appeal against a lower court's decision in a libel suit filed by Kok.

In the suit, Kok claimed that Jamal had defamed her over the Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor (Yawas) funds.

"We are not persuaded that this application has met the threshold requirement for leave under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964," said Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Sebli.

The panel, which also included Federal Court judges Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, ordered Jamal to also pay RM30,000 in legal costs

Kok's lawyer, Datuk S.N. Nair, told the media that Jamal had settled the RM300,000 payment.

Kok filed the suit on April 6, 2017, accusing Jamal of making defamatory statements about her concerning the Yawas funds during a press conference on March 8, 2017.

In her statement of claim, she asserted that the defamatory statements were circulated through both the print and electronic media, including on Jamal's Facebook page.

She contended that the defamatory statements implied she had misappropriated state government funds for personal gain and portrayed her as unethical.

On July 26, 2022, Kok was awarded RM300,000 by High Court Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Arief Emran Arifin. Jamal was also ordered to pay RM50,000 in costs.

On March 27 this year, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Datuk Supang Lian dismissed Jamal's appeal. He also ordered Jamal to pay RM50,000 in legal costs.

On March 29, 2023, a different panel of the Court of Appeal granted Jamal's request to defer the payment of RM300,000 in damages, but ordered him to deposit the amount into the account of the law firm representing Kok pending disposal of his appeal in the Federal Court.

Lawyers Rejinder Singh and Maidzatul Akmal Daud represented Jamal, while lawyer Jaden Phoon Wai represented Kok.

-- BERNAMA