Defamation payouts must not exceed injury compensation, says ex-Federal Court judge
KUALA LUMPUR: Damages awarded in civil defamation suits should not exceed those granted in cases involving physical injury, said former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal.
He described it as disproportionate for courts to award millions for reputational harm, while victims suffering life-altering injuries, such as paraplegia, receive only hundreds of thousands.
"People will lose confidence in the court if you award millions for loss of reputation rather than for the loss of limbs," he said at the Bar Council's forum on defamation law reform, Revisiting the Defamation Act 1957.
Additionally, the former top court judge said that exemplary damages, additional compensation awarded beyond actual loss, especially when the defendant has acted with vindictiveness or malice, should have no place in defamation law.
Meanwhile, Bar Council Civil Law and Law Reform Committee co-chair Datuk Seri M. Ramachelvam said politicians should not receive higher awards than ordinary individuals in defamation cases.
"They (politicians and celebrities) have far more resources to respond," he said.
Ramachelvam also pointed out that the legal costs of initiating a defamation suit were prohibitive for ordinary people.
He suggested creating an alternative mechanism to resolve defamation cases and improve access to justice.
"In Malaysia, it's usually the rich and influential who pursue defamation cases," he added.
The committee's deputy chairman Saraswathy Shirke Deo, said the committee was considering a proposal to raise the threshold for defamation claims to prevent trivial matters from reaching the courts.
"We want to make it a tad bit harder for celebrities and politicians. You want to ensure that when you file a defamation suit, it's a genuine one.
"So, we would want to raise the threshold," she said.
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