KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Senator P Waytha Moorthy has filed a defamation suit against Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) president Datuk Azwanddin Hamzah.
According to documents sighted by the Malay Mail, the lawsuit was filed on February 13, 2019 at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur and accused Azwanddin of using “defamatory words” in his speech at the “Justice for Adib and Call for Waytha Moorthy’s Sacking” rally last year.
It reprinted Azwanddin’s entire speech in full including the part where the Minister in Prime Minister’s Department in charge of National Unity and Social Well-being was allegedly called a “pariah” numerous times.
“Resign resign, resign immediately! Resign resign, resign immediately!” Azwanddin had said to a crowd of around 2,000 in Klang during the rally.
The suit claimed the “impugned speech” had caused Waytha Moorthy distress and influenced many members of the public against him, with some accusing him of being complicit in the death of fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim during the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple riot last year.
It claimed it had damaged Waytha Moorthy’s reputation and caused him embarrassment as Azwanddin had practically called the minister a “lowlife”.
“The Plaintiff pleads the Defamatory Statements uttered by the Defendant during the Rally, against the Plaintiff is false, derogatory, malicious, uncalled for, mala fide, bereft of any truth, reckless, deliberate and pre-meditated and heard and read in its entirety would no doubt point towards the Defendant’s malicious intent to defame the Plaintiff and caused harm to the Plaintiff and are seriously prejudicial to the reputation of the Plaintiff, although the Impugned Articles had censored the word “pariah” on the portal sites and Youtube,” the lawsuit stated.
Waytha Moorthy is demanding general damages, aggravated damages, exemplary damages, an injunction against Azwanddin or JMM from reproducing the speech in any form, interest of five per cent on the judgement sum, costs and any other relief the Court would grant him.
The suit claimed that Azwanddin had also refused to apologise over the matter.
