APEX COURT TO HEAR REWCASTLE BROWN’S ‘LEAVE TO APPEAL’ BID IN SEPTEMBER

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has fixed Sept 10 to hear an application by Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown and two others for leave to appeal a lower court ruling holding them liable for defaming Terengganu’s Sultanah Nur Zahirah.

Their lawyer, Haikaldin Mahyidin, said the proceedings will be conducted online.

He said the new date was fixed at case management before court deputy registrar Husna Dzulkifly today.

Counsel Haaziq Pillai Abdullah appeared for the sultanah.

The leave hearing, originally scheduled for May 30, was postponed as the applicants’ counsel, Americk Sidhu, was unable to log into the online proceedings because of technical issues.

As a result, the application, fixed before Justices Nallini Pathmanathan, Nordin Hassan and Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, could not proceed.

Rewcastle Brown, publisher Chong Ton Sin and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd are seeking leave to appeal a Court of Appeal ruling holding them liable for defamation and ordering that they pay the sultanah RM300,000 in damages, and costs.

The appeals court ruled that the impugned statement in Rewcastle Brown’s book linking the sultanah to Low Taek Jho and 1MDB was calculated to expose the royalty to hatred, ridicule or contempt.

The book, which tells the story behind investigations into 1MDB, was written by Rewcastle Brown and published in 2018.

The court also said the impugned statement had led to the public leaving comments on Malaysiakini ridiculing the sultanah.

Sultanah Nur Zahirah filed the defamation suit against Rewcastle Brown, Chong and Vinlin Press in 2018, claiming that the writer had made a disparaging statement in the book.

She claimed the statement could be taken to mean that she was involved in corrupt practices and had interfered in Terengganu’s administration, besides using her status to influence the establishment of Terengganu Investment Authority Bhd (TIA).

The sultanah also alleged that the statement could be construed to mean that she had helped Low become an adviser to TIA.

On Oct 31, 2022, the High Court dismissed the suit after Justice Johan Lee ruled that the statement was not defamatory of the sultanah.

The decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal on Dec 12 last year.

2024-06-11T10:26:36Z dg43tfdfdgfd