KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 4): Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar told the High Court on Tuesday that it was utterly irresponsible to spread "inaccurate lies" and falsehood about the Covid-19 vaccination especially when the country was facing a public health crisis.

Testifying in his defamation suit against religious preacher Mohd Rasyiq Alwi, Khairy, 49, or better known as KJ, said that when he was the then-health minister, any accusations which were inaccurate were challenged, and that any allegations on the Covid-19 vaccination should be backed by scientific proof.

“In times of grave crisis for Malaysia and the world, it is utterly irresponsible to spread inaccurate lies and falsehood regarding vaccination. As someone who has been vested with managing a public health crisis, [I would have to dispel this].

“In times of crisis involving public health, it is important to act judiciously and quickly to implement all the (health) programmes, including vaccination,” he told judge Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Raja Mohzan.

Earlier, Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin had directed the case to proceed to trial, despite the defendant and his lawyer being absent, as he ruled that this case had been going on for a long time, and that Mohd Rasyiq had failed to attend mediation and had not attended the last case management on Dec 3 last year.

Initially, Mohd Rasyid had appointed lawyers to represent him after the suit was filed in 2022, but they were discharged a year later as he chose to represent himself. Mediation for the case was done twice in February and April last year, but he failed to be present on both occasions, and following that, trial dates were fixed on Dec 3 and 4, 2024.

However, following case management on Oct 29 last year, Mohd Rasyid informed the court that he was in the process of appointing new lawyers to represent him, and wanted the court to vacate the December trial dates. The court fixed Dec 3 as case management, but neither Mohd Rasyid nor his legal representative turned up, resulting in the court fixing trial dates for Tuesday (Feb 4) and Wednesday (Feb 5). 

KJ's counsel Abdul Rashid Ismail told the court that he had informed the defendant about Tuesday and Wednesday’s hearing dates, and despite this, Mohd Rasyiq did not appear. Following this, the lawyer asked for the trial to proceed.

The Edge has sent a direct message to the preacher, whose last Facebook posting on Jan 12 this year claimed that he was in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Mohd Rasyiq is being sued for purportedly making eight defamatory postings on Instagram and Facebook between Oct 20, 2021, and Jan 10, 2022 — at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic — against vaccination.

Khairy claimed that the posting made questioning his Covid-19 vaccination status, and other questions, was meant to undermine the then-government's efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following this, the former minister is seeking exemplary, aggravated, and general damages from the preacher.

Khairy was the health minister from Aug 30, 2021, to October 2022, and as the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Program, he said that when the world was confronted with the pandemic in 2020, it was not a normal virus.

“It was a new virus, which they gave the name Covid-19. There is no playbook in Malaysia, or the rest of the world, or anywhere, to deal with the virus. The virus had caused considerable death, especially among people for the high risk group.

“As the coordinating minister (in charge of vaccination) and health minister, I was leading the government’s response in this pandemic,” he said, adding that the preacher’s allegation that he had failed as health minister to manage and curb the spread of Covid-19 was a baseless allegation.

Khairy said that he had taken his first two doses of the Sinovac vaccine on March 18, 2021, and April 8, 2021, and took a booster dose of Pfizer in September the same year.

“I was the first recipient of the Sinovac vaccine,” he said.

Khairy said Malaysia’s success with the Covid-19 national immunisation programme had enabled the country to move from the pandemic phase to the endemic phase in April 2022.

He added that his leadership as health minister had resulted in him being appointed as the vice-chair of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s executive board representing the Western Pacific Region for 2022 to 2023.

“My appointment is unprecedented and a great honour for Malaysia,” Khairy said.

Meanwhile, when quizzed by Khairy’s counsel Abdul Rashid, former health director general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who was the second witness, verified Khairy's vaccination, dispelling the rumour that the former health minister had not taken it.

“He was the first recipient of the Sinovac vaccine, and although he could receive the Pfizer vaccine, he chose Sinovac as at that point of time, there was a point (issue) of trust on the Sinovac vaccination.

“He became a role model. This is leadership by example. He wants to get the Sinovac vaccine to show it is equally effective to Pfizer,” Noor Hisham said, adding that Khairy took the first two Sinovac vaccines in his constituency of Rembau, and the booster dose of Pfizer in Putrajaya.

When asked how Malaysia had performed in the pandemic, the former director general said that WHO had appreciated what the nation had done.

“This is further perpetuated by my appointment as the Chair of the World Health Organization's Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (SCHEPPR).

“Out of 194 countries, Malaysia was chosen to chair this committee for the first time between 2022 and 2024. The committee is a recognition on how to integrate with other organisations, as well in the face of pandemic,” Noor Hisham said, adding that in facing a pandemic, the ministry had to make a decision, whether rightly or wrongly.

“We may have forgotten (as we have put the Covid-19 pandemic behind us), but if we [should] relook back again, and [assess] how we can leverage on this experience to prepare for the future,” he said.

Abdul Rashid then informed Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin that the plaintiff was closing its case and would make submissions on Wednesday.

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