PUTRAJAYA (June 18): The appellate court has upheld that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statements against Lim Guan Eng concerning tax breaks for Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary’s charity foundation Yayasan Albukhary were defamatory, but has slashed the damages to be paid from RM1.35 million down to RM450,000.
In a unanimous decision on Thursday, a three-member panel led by Court of Appeal (COA) judge Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli allowed the former prime minister’s appeal in part.
"The three statements, when read together, clearly suggest the respondent (Lim) was responsible for the tax revocation. [...] In addition, the statement[s] were proven to be false when [Ministry of Finance (MOF) official Hazlan Abdul Aziz] confirmed that the tax exemption enjoyed by [the organisation] was never revoked or cancelled by the government," the judicial panel said.
They added that there was no reason to disturb the finding of this fact by the High Court and also agreed that the defence of justification, qualified privilege, and fair comment is not applicable in this case.
However, the panel was of the opinion that the general damages of RM1.05 million was "manifestly high" and reduced the amount to RM450,000 in total.
The panel, which also consisted of COA judges Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar, also said that aggravated and exemplary damages were "not justifiable" in this case.
“We could not find any evidence that [Muhyiddin’s] conduct were outrageous or calculated to make profit for himself. And we [do] not see any need to be punitive against [him],” the panel said.
In November last year, then-judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain had found that Muhyiddin’s defence was unsustainable because his statements were not based on “true factual foundation”.
The High Court had found that Muhyiddin had “deliberately” mixed his allegations with “inflammatory references to race and religion” by stressing Yayasan Albukhary’s role in helping Muslims through its charity work.
She awarded RM1.05 million in total for general damages over the three statements, RM150,000 in aggravated damages, and another RM150,000 in exemplary damages.
Lim had sued Muhyiddin over the comments made in March 2023 — that the DAP bigwig had allegedly withdrawn tax breaks for the Islamic philanthropic organisation.
Lim, who is the Bagan member of Parliament, claimed that the statements insinuated that he had abused his position and power as the then-finance minister by authorising the Inland Revenue Board to impose tax and penalties on a charitable organisation, when it should not be taxed.
The statements, he claimed, also implied that he was racist and was intentionally targeting the Islamic organisation.
Muhyiddin had appealed the decision.
On Thursday, the panel also allowed Lim’s cross appeal on interest, and imposed a quantum of 5% per annum from the date of the judgement until the full settlement.
The panel awarded RM35,000 in cost for both the appeals.
In this case, Lim was represented by Guok Ngek Seong of Messrs Guok Partnership, while Muhyiddin was represented by Chetan Jethwani of Messrs Chetan Jethwani & Co.
Read also:
June 18 for Muhyiddin’s appeal over RM1.35 mil damages to Guan Eng, cross-appeal
Court orders Muhyiddin to pay RM1.35m in damages to Guan Eng over defamatory comments on Yayasan Albukhary’s tax breaks
Court sets Nov 8 for decision on Guan Eng's defamation suit against Muhyiddin over comments on Yayasan Albukhary's tax breaks