KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court awarded Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (pic) RM550,000 in damages yesterday against a senior Perkasa leader and three newspapers for claiming that he had leaked national secrets to Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP)  in 2011.

Judge Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin said Guan Eng, who is DAP secretary-general, had proven his case against the defendants on the balance of probability.

Guan Eng, represented by Americk Sidhu, filed the suit in June 2012, naming the New Straits Times, Utusan Malaysia, Perkasa information officer and Umno member Ruslan Kassim, Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, the then NST group editor Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun, and Utusan group editor-in-chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak as defendants.

Perkasa was ordered to pay RM150,000, while the New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd, which owns both the New Straits Times and Berita Harian, and Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd were ordered to pay RM200,000 each in damages.

She also ordered the three defendants to pay costs amounting to RM20,000.

The quantum is for the aggravated and exemplary damages caused to Guan Eng by the defendants for running a comment piece by Ruslan, who alleged that Guan Eng was a spy for Singapore and that he revealed national secrets to PAP leaders during a meeting in Singapore in August 2011.

It was reported that the articles published by the three dailies on Oct 2, 2011, were based on a statement by Ruslan uploaded on the website pribumiperkasa.com. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 27, 2015.