Court dismisses suit by entertainment journalists against Shila Amzah

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today dismissed a defamation suit filed by two entertainment journalists against singer Shila Amzah and her father, ND Lala, over statements they allegedly issued at a press conference three years ago.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Firuz Jaffril struck out out the suit by Maliah Surip, 36, of Kosmo, and Mohd Ifqdar Abdul Rahman, 35, from Utusan Malaysia and ordered them to pay costs of RM30,000 to Shila and her father.
He ruled that the statements by Shila and ND Lala at the press conference were not malicious and were reasonable comments.
He said the statements were made to clarify an issue.
Journalists and celebrities needed one another, the celebrities needed journalists to boost their popularity and the journalists needed the celebrities to increase their newspaper circulation, he said.
Lawyers Ellia Zuraini Mat Zin and Umi Farhanah Mohd Nasir represented both the journalists, while Shila Amzah, whose real name is Nurshahila, and her father, ND Lala, whose real name is Amir Hamzah Salleh, were represented by lawyer Mahendra Kumar.
Maliah and Mohd Ifqdar filed the suit on Dec 17, 2015 after Shila and her father held a press conference at Mega Music World, Cheras on Sept 24, 2014 to explain the singer's decision in upload a photograph on her Instagram.
The photograph, with a caption questioning the Malay media for being more interested in writing gossips on Malay artistes, instead of their achievements in the industry, was uploaded on Sept 15, 2014.
Maliah and Mohd Ifqdar claimed that the singer and her father had questioned their credibility as journalists, and had sought damages, costs and other relief which were deemed fit by the court.
On March 31 this year, the High Court here dismissed Shila's suit against Maliah and two others over an alleged defamatory article published in the Kosmo! on Sept 17, 2014 and ordered Shila to pay costs of RM20,000 to the three defendants. — Bernama