.jpg "Jaringan Melayu Malaysia president Datuk Azwanddin Hamzah Ariffin Abu Bakar is pictured at the Kuala Lumpur High Court July 29, 2019. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isa")
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — The defamation suit filed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Waytha Moorthy against Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) president Azwanddin Hamzah is settled after the latter agreed to make an open apology to the minister-in-charge of national unity.
The suit was over a racial slur allegedly made by Azwanddin during an assembly organised by Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Geras) at Dataran Seni Klang in December last year.
Lawyer Annou Xavier, representing Waytha Moorthy, told High Court Judicial Commissioner Rohani Ismail that both parties agreed to settle the case.
“The defendant (Azwanddin) will make an apology to the plaintiff (Waytha Moorthy) , which will be published by Berita Harian, Makkal Osai and posted on the defendants’ Facebook.
“The defendant will pay the plaintiff RM90,000 in general damages within 30 days of today’s judgment, either by bank draft or online transfer to the plaintiff’s solicitor, Messrs. Azri Lee Swee Seng & Co,” he said when reading out the draft of the consent judgment.
Xavier said the terms of the settlement also included the prohibition on the defendant, whether himself, his employees, or agents, from repeating or reproducing the alleged defamatory words.
Azwanddin agreed to terms of the settlement and Rohani then recorded the consent judgment
Waytha Moorthy, 53, filed the suit on February 13, claiming that Azwanddin, 46, had used defamatory words against him in a speech at the assembly organised by Geras on December 25 last year and the words were republished by the print media and on the Internet.
He claimed the alleged the defamatory words, which he said were untrue, derogatory, malicious, uncalled for, mala fide, bereft of any truth, reckless, deliberate and premeditated, were downloaded on Azwanddin Facebook page and had received 187,912 views; 4,705 likes; 943 shares and 362 comments as on February 8, 2019.
Waytha Moorthy said the alleged defamatory words had caused him harm and embarrassment and were seriously prejudicial to his reputation as a senator and a minister, and as a result, his good name was tarnished.
He is seeking an injunction to prevent Azwanddin, or his agents, from repeating the alleged defamatory words, as well as general, exemplary and aggravated damages, cost and other relief which the court deemed fit.
Azwanddin, in his defence statement filed last April, denied all the claims by Waytha Moorthy on grounds that the statement he made did not involve the plaintiff exclusively, but to address political issues at large.
He said he did not have any malicious intent against Waytha Moorthy and that the statement was made to make known the injustice in the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim. — Bernama
