Slander against judge considered contempt of court

Any statements, comments or articles which slander the judiciary can be considered a contempt of court, said Mohd Aizuddin Zolkeply, Head of Corporate Communications and International Relations Unit of the Chief Registrar's Office of the Federal Court.

He said action could be taken against anyone responsible for making such statements, comments or articles.

"There are proper channels and ways in accordance with the law to complain if there is misconduct by a judge and not by issuing statements, comments or articles which contain elements of slander that can confuse the public," he said in a statement yesterday.

He said this in response to a report lodged by the Appeal Court's deputy registrar Rihaida Rafie at the Putrajaya police headquarters on March 8 against a blogger for allegedly slandering Appeal Court judge Anantham Kasinather.

Several blogs posted ‘slanderous’ remarks

Aizuddin said the alleged slanderous remarks were also posted in several other blogs, including infamous blogger Papagomo.

He said the blogger concerned had alleged that other judges had interfered in the court case involving Magic Telekom Sdn Bhd and Numix Engineering Sdn Bhd.

"The Malaysian judiciary views seriously matters which can tarnish the image of the judiciary, especially through writings and baseless comments intended to tarnish the image and integrity of the judges," he added.

He was it was the responsibility of all quarters to respect the judiciary as it was an institution which upheld justice.

- Bernama