KUALA LUMPUR: Rembau member of parliament Khairy Jamaluddin has failed to set aside the RM150,000 that he has to pay Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for defaming the latter, 14 years ago.
This after the Court of Appeal chaired by Datuk Lee Swee Seng dismissed the Health Minister's appeal against the High Court's decision today.
Lee in her judgment said High Court judge Azizul Azmi Adnan did not err in making his decision as the defence of justification was not made out.
"This, therefore, does not warrant the appellate court's intervention," she said before dismissing the appeal with cost of RM50,000.
Anwar filed the defamation suit against Khairy in 2008 over the "homosexual insinuation" brought by Khairy who was the then Umno Youth deputy chief.
The words by Khairy were published on several online portals like Malaysiakini, which carried an article titled "Anwar and Kin No Threat".
Anwar alleged the words implied he was involved in unnatural sexual activities that contravened Islam and that he was of immoral character.
The High Court on Sept 29, 2017, said the degree of the allegation made by Khairy was serious and that the defamatory statement against Anwar was made in a speech at a public event and had been subsequently republished widely.