Mukhriz loses defamation suit against Tunku Abdul Aziz

KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir has lost his defamation suit against former DAP vice-chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim.
High Court Justice Datuk Nordin Hassan today ruled that Mukhriz had failed to prove his case that the statement Abdul Aziz made was defamatory and caused him to be ridiculed by the public.
The court also ordered Mukhriz, who is also deputy president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), to pay costs of RM15,000 to the defendant.
On Feb 7, 2017, Mukhriz filed a defamation suit alleging that on Dec 30, 2016, Abdul Aziz had issued a statement titled "There is a secret pact between Tun Mahathir and Kit Siang" which was reported in the blog AIDC News.
The statement alleged that the secret pact was for Mahathir to be appointed prime minister and for DAP leader Lim Kit Siang as deputy prime minister should the then opposition coalition win the general election.
Mukhriz alleged that on Jan 1, 2017, they had made a public denial on the matter and issued a notice of demand for the defendant to prove his defamatory statement, failing which he would take legal action against the defendant.
However, on Jan 3, 2017, the defendant produced another media statement titled "Tunku Aziz urges Mukhriz, Kit Siang to make sworn statements".
Pakatan Harapan won GE14 and Mahathir has since been sworn in as the seventh prime minister and Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has been appointed as deputy prime minister.
Mukhriz has also been appointed as Kedah Mentri Besar, after being sacked from Umno and ousted from his position in 2016 as the state's chief after he spoke up about the troubled sovereign fund 1MDB.