PETALING JAYA: Former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan is seeking to strike out a defamation suit filed against him by Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh.
Yeoh sued Musa over allegations she tried to turn Malaysia into a Christian nation. She claimed the statement was made at a forum at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) on Jan 30.
In his bid to strike out the suit, Musa said his remarks were made under qualified privilege as the forum was a closed-door event, attended by about 100 people.
He said Yeoh’s suit failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action against him.
“The forum’s organiser sent me an email on Jan 20, inviting me to speak. I attended the forum in my capacity as a former IGP.
“The forum (known as ‘Wawanca Isu Semasa Perjanjian Damai Hatyai 1989: PKM Menyerah Diri?’) was aimed at providing exposure to the people on issues related to national securities,” he said.
He contended that his speech at the forum was one hour and 56 minutes long, and that the disputed statement on Yeoh lasted only one minute and 45 seconds.
“The failure to understand my statement as a whole caused it to be misinterpreted and prejudiced me,” he said.
Musa also said he had no control over the broadcast of his speech outside the hall.
In her suit, Yeoh said Musa’s statement against her was made in bad faith to harm her reputation and expose her to public ridicule.
Musa, who was the IGP from 2006 to 2010, allegedly told the forum an unnamed group had tried to destroy Islam in the country. He is said to have claimed that he did research and found links between the evangelist group and DAP.
Yeoh previously published an autobiography, titled “Becoming Hannah, A Personal Journey”, that describes her journey as an ordinary Malaysian woman whose life was transformed through her personal faith as a Christian, which later led her into politics.
It was criticised in May 2017 by a Universiti Utara Malaysia political scientist as an example of DAP hypocrisy about its stated policy of keeping politics and religion separate.
She is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages from Musa, and an injunction to restrain him and other parties from further publishing the alleged statements.
The High Court set Nov 17 for case mention of Musa’s striking-out application. - FMT
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