KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been ordered to pay RM1.35 million in damages for defaming DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng over the revocation of AlBukhary Foundation's tax exemption.
High Court Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain ruled today that the former finance minister had successfully proven his case against the former prime minister.
Lim claimed that the allegedly defamatory statements implied that he had abused his position and power by authorising or directing the IRB to impose taxes and penalties on the charitable foundation, when it should not have been taxed.
The judge in her ruling said the former prime minister's conduct was unwarranted as he had resources at his disposal to verify and confirm whether his understanding was correct on fact.
"Yet, he (Muhyiddin) did not do so and continued to make further defamatory statements against the plaintiff (Lim) after the latter had brought to his attention the falsity of such allegations in the defamatory statements.
"This court cannot accept the defense's argument that the language used in the impugned statements was not inflammatory.
"The context of the defamatory statements, in their natural and ordinary meaning, incited racial sentiments," she said.
Roz Mawar said Muhyiddin also deliberately infused his statements with religious and racial overtones, repeatedly highlighting Yayasan Al-Bukhary's role in Islamic charitable work.
"The court also found that qualified privilege did not apply, as these statements were not made within the appropriate context and were instead part of a public campaign.
"The timing of these statements, made immediately after his Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) questioning, suggested an improper motive to divert attention from his legal issues," she said.
She said the proof of malice could override qualified privilege, which the court found present based on evidence that the defendant intended to deflect from his own investigation by implicating the plaintiff.
The court also ordered the Pagoh member of parliament to pay RM50,000 in costs.
Muhyiddin's lawyer Chethan Jethwani said they would file an appeal against the decision.
Lawyer Guok Ngek Seong represented Lim.
On March 27 last year, Lim filed a suit claiming the statements were defamatory.
On March 9, the same year, Muhyiddin, in a statement after being investigated by the MACC, alleged that the Pakatan Harapan government had revoked the foundation's tax exemption.
He claimed that Lim, during his tenure as finance minister, was responsible for the revocation.
Prime Minister Datuk Anwar Ibrahim had previously said that Lim, during his tenure as the finance minister, never revoked Al-Bukhary Foundation's tax exempt status.
Anwar said this was based on ministry records, which showed that approval was only given on Feb 25, 2021, in an extraordinary circumstance involving Yayasan Al-Bukhary and the Al-Bukhary Group.
Lim was finance minister in the PH government that held power from May 2018 to February 2020.