KUALA LUMPUR: DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is wealthy enough to pay the RM1.402 million as ordered by the High Court.
He dismissed Muhyiddin's claim that the amount was "too large" to pay, saying that it did not constitute special circumstances to grant a suspension.
The former Penang chief minister argued that allowing Muhyiddin to withhold payment pending his appeal at the Court of Appeal would deprive him of enjoying the fruits of litigation and imply non-compliance with the court order.
"This would be entirely unfair to me, especially since the case involves a monetary judgment.
"I firmly believe that the defendant is a wealthy individual with substantial assets and is fully capable of paying the judgment amount.
"This is evident from the public declaration made to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
"The defendant topped the MACC Cabinet Asset Declaration list published in July 2020, with a monthly income of RM93,841.65 and declared assets valued between RM10 million and RM15 million," he said.
He said this in an affidavit responding to Muhyiddin's application to temporarily suspend the payment pending the outcome of his appeal.
Meanwhile, he said that he had given Muhyiddin sufficient opportunity to pay the RM1.402 million as ordered by the High Court on Nov 8.
The court had directed Muhyiddin to pay RM1.35 million in damages to Guan Eng after finding the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman guilty of defaming the Bagan MP.
Before filing a bankruptcy notice against Muhyiddin, Lim said he had allowed the Bersatu president time to settle the judgment amount, costs, and allocations.
"I believe I provided adequate and reasonable time to the defendant - about 10 days (seven days from the lawyer's letter dated Nov 27, and an additional two days from the letter dated Dec 4).
"However, the defendant refused to comply with my demand. Therefore, I instructed my lawyer to file the Bankruptcy Notice on Dec 9.
"A copy of the unsealed Bankruptcy Notice was delivered to the defendant's lawyer via email and hand delivery on Dec 10.
"I hereby declare that sufficient notice and time were given to the defendant to comply with the judgment.
"The court, in its grounds of judgment, said that the judgment amount must be paid 'immediately'. However, the defendant has yet to fulfil this obligation," he said.
Lim also rejected Muhyiddin's proposal to deposit only 50 per cent of the judgment amount.
As a former prime minister and a prominent national politician, Lim said, Muhyiddin must set a good example by complying with the court's decision.
On Nov 8, the High Court ordered Muhyiddin to pay RM1.35 million in damages to Lim after ruling that the former had defamed him.
Judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain issued the order while allowing Lim's defamation suit against Muhyiddin over the revocation of the tax exemption granted to Yayasan Albukhary.
Roz Mawar found that Lim had proven his case against Muhyiddin on a balance of probabilities, the burden of proof in civil claims.
The court ordered Muhyiddin to pay general damages of RM1.05 million and aggravated and exemplary damages of RM150,000 each.
On March 27 last year, Lim filed a lawsuit against Muhyiddin, alleging that he made three defamatory statements on Facebook about the tax exemption issue on March 9, 11, 12, 2023. These statements were later published in several newspapers and news portals.
Lim said the defamatory statements suggested that he had abused his position and authority at the time by directing or authorising the Inland Revenue Board to impose taxes and penalties on the charitable foundation when it should not have been taxed.