Blogger granted time to file defence over Rais’ suit

Court orders blogger to remove alleged libellous words or article and photograph of Rais from his blog.

KUALA LUMPUR: A blogger sued by Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim over an alleged defamatory article in a blog has been granted an extension of time to file his statement of defence.

Amizudin Ahmat had his application granted by High Court Judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof on Feb 17 when the parties met the judge.

Today was set for hearing of the inter-parte injunction. However, following the application for time, Zabariah set March 21 for mention.

On Feb 2, Rais obtained an ex-parte injunction from the High Court to compel Amizudin to remove the alleged defamatory article against him in Amizudin’s blog, sharpshooterblogger.blogspot.com.

Zabariah, in granting Rais’s application, ordered Amizudin or his agents to remove the alleged libellous words or article and photograph of the plaintiff (Rais) from the blog.

The judge had allowed Rais’s application to restrain Amizudin or his agents from further publishing the alleged libellous article or any other article similarly defamatory of him in the blog or in any other blog and media until the disposal of the inter-parte injunction hearing.

On Jan 31, Rais filed a defamation suit against Amizudin, who is also a committee member of the youth wing of PKR over the article published in Amizudin’s blog, with Rais’s photograph, on or about Dec 28 last year.

In the suit, filed through Messrs Shafee & Co, Rais is seeking general damages, special damages, aggravated damages, punitive damages, interest and injunction against the defendant to remove and to restrain the defendant from further publishing the article.

In his statement of claim, Rais, 69, said the entire words in the Malay language article were malicious and defamatory of him.

The minister said the words in the article meant and/or were understood to mean that he is guilty of a serious offence of having raped and capable of murdering his Indonesian maid.

In the statement of claim, Rais also said that the defamatory words were understood to mean that he is an immoral person and/or leader.

Rais said that following the article, he had been gravely injured in his personal and/or professional reputation nationally and/or internationally, in his character and credit, and had been brought into public scandal, odium and contempt as well as suffered considerable embarrassment, distress and damage.

Rais, who is the MP for Jelebu in Negri Sembilan, denied the allegations last month after a blogger named him.

Subsequently, a woman who worked as a maid for him for eight years was reported by an Indonesian news portal to have denied that she had ever been mistreated or raped by her employer.

- Bernama