GEORGE TOWN: Utusan Malaysia agreed to settle a defamation suit brought by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng over an article implying that he had control over Muslim wakaf land in a consent judgment reached at the High Court here today.
In the judgment reached in the chambers of justice Rosilah Yop, Utusan agreed to retract the article and publish an apology, with the quantum of damages and costs to be decided on Nov 23.
The trial was scheduled for today and tomorrow, but Utusan decided to reach a consent judgment instead.
The article in question, “Pengundi Atas Pagar Jadi Penentu”, was published on April 10, 2015. The analysis of the Permatang Pauh by-election, written by news analysis editor Zulkifli Jalil, was carried in both the print and online versions of Utusan.
The article claimed that “the chief minister” had full power over wakaf land and how it could be developed, as opposed to such land being held, managed and developed by the state Islamic council during Barisan Nasional’s rule in Penang.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Lim said Utusan had read an apology to him in the judge’s chambers and agreed to publish it in their print and online editions.
He said the apology meant that the article was false, and vindicated him of any doubts against him. He added that the apology was an admission of guilt by Utusan.
“It was just to fuel hatred against a non-Muslim like me when I have not meddled with Islamic matters,” he said, adding that his critics had used the article in attacks against him until this day.
He said he would not hesitate to take legal action against those who continued to defame him in newspapers and on social media.
In his statement of claim, Lim said Utusan had failed to verify the article written by Zulkifli, which he claimed was written with the intent of smearing his name and reputation as an individual as well as chief minister and DAP secretary-general.
He said the article gave the impression that a non-Muslim had usurped the powers of the state Islamic council concerning the management and development of wakaf land.
He also said the article made him appear to be undermining the council’s power in the eyes of Malaysians and Muslims at large.
Utusan, in its statement of defence, claimed its article was a piece of investigative journalism and fair comment based on facts obtained from reliable sources.
It said the article was an analysis piece on the election in Penang, and a report on the “DAP-led administration” headed by Lim since 2008.
Utusan also said Lim had no locus standi to initiate a lawsuit against it in his official capacity as the chief minister.
Lim was chief minister of Penang from 2008 to 2018. - FMT
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