KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has launched legal action against national domain registry MYNIC Berhad in a bid to identify the owner of an online portal over an allegedly defamatory article.

The disclosure application filed in court seeks the identity and corporate details of the registered owner behind the focusmalaysia.my domain name, following the publication of an article on March 10 titled “10 reasons Why KJ isn’t PM material, Malaysians must carefully examine his past track record”, NST reported.

The article in question was published under the pseudonym “Corruption Watch”.

Through the pre-action discovery application, Khairy is requesting the registered owner’s identity card or company registration number, residential or business address, email, and contact number.

He is also seeking particulars of all administrative and technical contacts linked to the domain.

Additionally, the application requests registration documentation, including original creation and expiration dates, the accredited registrar involved, and historical logs of any ownership transfers.

According to court filings, Khairy said that the true identity of the author writing under the “Corruption Watch” pseudonym remains anonymous and cannot be determined without judicial intervention.

His legal team previously served a letter of demand to Focus Malaysia Sdn Bhd on March 13. However, the company denied owning or operating the website, stating that it had divested its entire business operations around 2018.

In an affidavit in reply, MYNIC confirmed that it holds the records of the domain’s registered owner, including contact particulars and administrative details.

The national registry stated it has no objection to handing over the information if directed by a court order.

MYNIC also verified that the entity registered as the domain owner on March 10, when the article was published, remains the current owner on record, with no transfer of ownership recorded between March 10 and June 18, when Khairy filed his application.

However, MYNIC opposed Khairy’s broader request for correspondence and communications between the registry, the registrant, and the accredited registrar, contending that such records are irrelevant to the planned defamation suit.

Emphasising that it is an innocent third party rather than the intended defendant, MYNIC is seeking an indemnity against any potential liabilities, costs, or claims arising from compliance with a disclosure order, alongside legal costs for the application.