[UPDATED] High Court dismisses Najib's ex-lawyers' suit against Malaysian Bar

New Straits Times

2 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar's statement criticising Datuk Seri Najib Razak's former legal team over their handling of his final SRC International appeal at the Federal Court did not amount to defamation, the High Court heard.
Judge Roz Mawar Rozain made the ruling before dismissing a defamation suit filed by senior lawyer Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim and two others against the Bar and its former president, Karen Cheah Yee Lynn.
Zaid, along with Liew Teck Huat and Reuben Mathiavaranam, had represented the former prime minister in his final appeal at the Federal Court in August 2022, replacing Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
The trio filed the suit over Cheah's media statement titled "Abuse of Process Brings Disrepute to Our Justice System", issued on Aug 9 that year, claiming it had tarnished their reputations.
In her ruling, Roz Mawar said the plaintiffs failed to establish that the words, in their natural and ordinary meaning, were defamatory in law.
She said the reputational impact of the plaintiffs' conduct had already crystallised prior to the publication, due to their public statements and the unfolding events at the Federal Court.
"The plaintiffs themselves had, prior to the publication, made multiple public disclosures including press interviews, social media postings, and commentaries admitting their lack of readiness, criticising prior counsel, and seeking adjournments which were ultimately refused by the apex court.
"Their reputational position had already been shaped by facts in the public domain.
"The impugned statements in the press release did not further lower or injure their standing in the eyes of reasonable members of society," she said.
Roz Mawar said the plaintiffs' claim of conspiracy to injure also failed, as there was no evidence of any agreement or concerted effort by the defendants to cause harm.
"No evidence was adduced to establish a concerted agreement between the defendants.
"If the complaint is based on a publication said to be defamatory, a separate claim of conspiracy cannot stand on its own," she said," she said, adding that the plaintiffs' claim for breach of statutory duty also had no merit.
The court said Cheah, who was then the Bar president, had acted within her statutory remit under Section 42(1)(d) of the Legal Profession Act in making public comments on matters of concern to the legal profession.
"There is no actionable breach, and no specific compensable loss was proven to have flowed from the alleged breach," she added.
Najib, on July 25, 2022, appointed Zaid's law firm to replace Shafee & Co in the final appeal of the SRC International case at the Federal Court, with Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik as lead counsel in place of Shafee.
However, the apex court on Aug 23 upheld the conviction and sentence of 12 years' imprisonment and a RM210 million fine imposed on Najib, who was found guilty of embezzling RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.
Najib's sentence was later reduced to six years, and the fine lowered to RM50 million, following his petition for a royal pardon on Sept 2, 2022.