Guan Eng says won’t ease up on defamation suits

GEORGE TOWN, Sept 27 — Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has warned those making false allegations against him that he will sue them just as he did with Utusan Malaysia, over which he won a defamation lawsuit today.

The Bagan MP said there are still efforts to smear his reputation and name using racial and religious sentiments.

“Like how Utusan alleged that I had interfered with Islamic religious affairs so I sued them, today it is proven in court that their allegations were lies, yet, some parties have continued to make such accusations,” he said in a brief press conference outside the High Court today.

He said since these individuals have continued attacking him with false allegations, he will take the same action against them.

“Some of them made such allegations in the media and some in social media, so I want to warn them that I will take action against them like how I took action against Utusan,” he said.

Earlier today, Utusan’s senior news editor, Zulkilfi Jalil, read out a public apology to Lim in a consent judgement over a defamatory article on Muslim wakaf land.

Lim had filed a defamation suit against Utusan and Zulkilfi over the article titled “Fence sitters to determine votes?” published on April 10, 2015, alleging that Penang’s wakaf land has been under the purview and control of the state government.

The analysis piece was written by Zulkifli and was published in Utusan’s print version and on its website.

The article alleged that Lim had full powers over wakaf land and how it can be developed as opposed to the land being held by the Penang state Islamic religious council when Barisan Nasional was in power in Penang.

Lim said the consent judgement today proved that the article contained lies and that he had never interfered in Islamic religious affairs.

Lim has also filed numerous other defamation suits against several other newspapers and individuals over various allegations against him when he was Penang chief minister.