Zaid, 2 others lose defamation suit against Malaysian Bar

Free Malaysia Today

2 days ago

The High Court ruled that Zaid Ibrahim and two others had failed to prove their case against the defendants on a balance of probabilities.
KUALA LUMPUR : The High Court has dismissed a libel suit filed by Zaid Ibrahim and two others against a former Malaysian Bar president over her statement on their conduct during Najib Razak's final appeal in the SRC International case.
Justice Roz Mawar Rozain said the former law minister, who is now a lawyer, and counsel Liew Teck Huat and Rueben Mathiavaranam had failed to prove their case against the defendants on a balance of probabilities.
'The statement had not lowered their reputation in the eyes of an ordinary person,' Roz Mawar said in her oral judgment read out in court today.
She also dismissed the plaintiffs' suit for conspiracy to injure and breach of statutory duty under the Legal Profession Act 1976.
Lawyer Andrew Chiew, who appeared for the Bar and its then president, Karen Cheah, did not ask for costs.
'We are extending the olive branch and hope the matter ends here,' he said.
Roz Mawar said while the defendants were magnanimous, nothing could stop the plaintiffs from appealing the case.
Zaid, Liew and Mathiavaranam had on Sept 30, 2022, filed the suit against the Bar and Cheah for allegedly defaming them over their conduct in the appeal.
They claim that a media statement, which Cheah issued on Aug 19, 2022 titled 'Abuse of process brings disrepute to our justice system', implied that they had 'undermined the justice system through unscrupulous strategies'.
The statement was published by several media organisations on the same day, they said.
The plaintiffs said the words in the press statement were calculated to 'disparage, besmirch and damn' them in their professional capacities as advocates and solicitors having conduct of appeals and applications in the Federal Court.
Najib had on July 25, 2002 appointed Zaid's law firm to replace Shafee & Co as solicitors in his final SRC International criminal appeal before the Federal Court, with Hisyam Teh Poh Teik replacing Shafee Abdullah as lead counsel.
Roz Mawar said the press statement did identify the plaintiffs and was published, but did not establish that the words, in their natural and ordinary meaning, were defamatory.
She said the plaintiffs themselves had, before the publication, made multiple public disclosures, including press interviews, social media postings and commentaries.
'They had admitted their lack of readiness, criticising prior counsel and seeking adjournments which were ultimately refused by the Federal Court,' she said.
Roz Mawar said she found that by Aug 19, 2022, the reputational position of the plaintiffs had already been shaped by facts in the public domain.
She said the court also found no evidence to support the plaintiffs' claim of conspiracy to injure.
'There is no actionable breach (of statutory duty) or specific compensable loss that has been proven to flow from the alleged breach,' she said.