The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Mohd Puad Zarkashi’s (above) application to remove an interim restraining order linked to ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin’s defamation action.
However, judge Mohd Firuz Jaffril also dismissed an application by Muhyiddin for an inter-partes injunction to maintain the status quo between parties, pending disposal of the main action.
He noted that Puad had already complied with the injunction order to take down the impugned Facebook posting, which formed the cause of action of Muhyiddin’s suit.
“Having said that, all is not lost for the defendant, as this court is empowered to award damages at the end of the day should the defendant succeed at trial.
“Last but not least, the impugned posting has been taken down. Under the circumstances, I am not inclined to allow the application to be set aside,” Firuz said as Puad looked on from the public gallery. Plaintiff Muhyiddin was not present.
On March 1, then premier Muhyiddin filed the defamation action against Puad over the FB posting. The Pagoh MP also obtained the ex-parte injunction against the defendant on that same day. This ex-parte order only lasted 21 days from the date of issuance on March 1.
A few days later, it was reported that Puad had taken down the FB posting in compliance with an interim court injunction obtained by Muhyiddin in relation to the ongoing suit.
The FB post was over alleged double standards in Covid-19 procedures in Malaysia.
Later on March 5, Puad filed the application to set aside the injunction.
Muhyiddin is seeking an inter-partes injunction (of which the application was dismissed today) to maintain the status quo between parties, pending disposal of the main defamation suit.
He is also seeking a court order for Puad to publish an unequivocal public apology on the latter’s official FB page and for the defendant to ensure the apology is carried by news portals and social media that had published the impugned post.
The former premier also seeks costs and any further relief deemed fit by the court.
In his statement of defence, Puad contended that the FB posting never referred to Muhyiddin, whether in a personal or official capacity.
Judge played it safe
Meanwhile, the High Court has also set Dec 9 for case management of the legal action. The suit has yet to go for a full trial.
DP Naban and Rosli Dahlan represented Muhyiddin, while counsel G Rajasingam and Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman appeared for Puad.
When contacted, Rosli confirmed that the court disallowed Muhyiddin's application for continuation of the injunction, as well as not allowing Puad's bid to set aside the ex-parte injunction.
"So in a nutshell, the judge played it safe to dismiss Puad's application and not to have continuing injunction (related to Muhyiddin's application) since the offending articles have been removed," the lawyer said.
Shahrul Fazli also confirmed the court's dismissal of Muhyiddin's application for interim injunction as well as Puad's bid to remove the ex-parte injunction dated March 1.
"In summary, there is no injunction against Puad from today with regards to the statement dated Feb 8, 2021," the lawyer said.- Mkini
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