PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan has apologised to former minister in the Prime Minister's Department for religious affairs, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, as part of a settlement for the latter’s defamation suit.
In a joint statement today, they said they have decided to settle the matter after considering the cost of the lawsuit, and considering there are “bigger and/or more important issues that need attention for the sake of the country”.
They said Takiyuddin apologised to Mujahid (above, right) over a PAS Facebook post published on Oct 16, 2022, in his capacity as the party secretary-general. In turn, Mujahid retracted the lawsuit with no orders on cost and no liberty to file the lawsuit afresh.
“Both parties hope the settlement is accepted and respected by all parties, and would not be used to threaten Malaysia’s well-being, unity, and harmony,” they said.
Mujahid had filed the lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court about two months after the Facebook post was made, on Dec 15, 2022. Takiyuddin was named as the sole plaintiff of the case in his capacity as the party’s secretary-general.
The case was heard before judge Roslan Nor.
The former minister alleged that Takiyuddin or PAS had maliciously uploaded the online posting to jeopardise his dignity by claiming that he supported the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
The post had implied that Mujahid, as the religious affairs minister under the Pakatan Harapan administration (May 2018 to February 2020), had allowed, supported, and accepted the LGBT community.
Mujahid contended that during his tenure as minister in charge of religious affairs, he had never at any time prevented the authorities from taking action against LGBT activists or those involved in LGBT activities.
As of the time of writing, the Facebook post is still visible on PAS’ official Facebook page. - Mkini
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