Court orders Mynic to reveal Focus Malaysia domain owner to KJ

 Justice Arziah Apandi says disclosure is needed to identify those responsible for an allegedly defamatory article.

Khairy Jamaluddin’s legal application against Mynic Bhd, the national registry for ‘.my’ domain names, seeks detailed information on the owner, including identity and contact details.

KUALA LUMPUR:

The High Court has substantially allowed former minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s bid to obtain the identity of the registered owner of the focusmalaysia.my domain following the publication of an allegedly defamatory article about him.

Justice Arziah Apandi made the order on Tuesday after hearing Khairy’s originating summons, which was filed on Sept 21.

The judge said the disclosure was necessary to enable Khairy to identify the person or persons responsible for the publication and, if appropriate, commence defamation proceedings.

The article, titled “10 Reasons Why KJ Isn’t PM Material, Malaysians Must Carefully Examine His Past Track Record”, was published on March 10 and attributed to a person or entity using the pseudonym “Corruption Watch”.

Arziah noted that Mynic Bhd’s evidence confirmed that the domain registrant’s details were no longer publicly available and could only be obtained through a legal process.

She also took into account Khairy’s unsuccessful attempts to identify those responsible through enquiries with Focus Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Inno Mind Works Sdn Bhd and Yip Chin Hwee.

Mynic, the national registry for “.my” domain names, was treated as an innocent third party and did not oppose most of the application.

The court ordered Mynic to disclose the registrant’s details as at March 10, as well as those of the current registrant if different.

These details include the name, identification or company registration number, address, email and telephone number, as well as details of any administrative or technical contact.

Mynic must also produce the domain’s registration history, expiry date, accredited registrar, and records of any changes to the registrant.

The disclosure of communications is limited to those between Mynic, the registrant, and the accredited registrar from March 10 to March 18 concerning the domain’s registration, renewal, transfer or administration.

Historical documents supporting the registrant’s registration must also be produced.

Mynic may redact unrelated third-party information and material outside the scope of the order.

The court gave Mynic 21 days from Sept 29 to comply, subject to any extension granted.

It rejected Mynic’s request for a blanket indemnity against losses and claims arising from the disclosure and ordered each party to bear its own costs.

The information disclosed may only be used for the intended proceedings.

“Once we obtain the information, the next step is to initiate legal proceedings against those responsible,” Khairy’s lawyer, Abdul Rashid Ismail, told FMT.

Khairy was also represented by Siti Nurani Zahidi while Bahari Yeow, Khoo Chin Wei and Leong Sen Suan represented Mynic. - FMT