KUALA LUMPUR: University lecturer Dr Kamarul Zaman Yusoff has withdrawn his defamation suit against Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh for allegedly making a slanderous post against him on Facebook.
Yeoh, who is also Segambut member of Parliament, said Kamarul had filed a notice of discontinuance in court on Jan 30, and had agreed to pay her RM5,000 in costs without the option of filing a new suit.
"In 2020, Kamarul Zaman made the comment 'Using religion to win the state election?' on a banner featuring my image, insinuating that I employed religious tactics while campaigning during the Sabah election.
"I promptly responded, highlighting his attempt to stoke racial and religious sentiments. Instead of retracting his statement and offering me an apology at that time, he decided to initiate a defamation lawsuit against me.
"I made it clear that I was thoroughly prepared to defend myself," she said in a statement today.
Yeoh described the withdrawal of the defamation suit as "timely" and also confirmed her position against exploiting race and religion in her political campaigns.
"(This) renders his accusations against me baseless and unsubstantiated. Now that the suit has been withdrawn, I wish to lay this matter to rest," she added.
In 2020, it was reported that Kamarul Zaman, who is a lecturer at Universiti Utara Malaysia, had sued Yeoh over a Facebook post during the Sabah election.
The academician had posted a banner featuring Yeoh's image, with the words "Peranan Umat Kristian Dalam Pembangunan Negara" (The role of Christians in nation-building).
A comment he wrote accompanying the banner said: "Using religion to win the state election?"
Previously, Kamarul had also lodged a police report against Yeoh over her personal biography (https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/05/240088/university-lecturer-lo...), claiming that she had attempted proselytisation.