KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today has dismissed a defamation suit filed by former Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s special officer, Mabel Sheela Mutthiah against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown.
The suit was related to three articles published in Sarawak Report, including one titled ‘How AG’s Office connived to prevent a second post-mortem on Kevin Morais – Exclusive Expose’.
Judicial commissioner Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan made the decision after finding that the plaintiff (Mabel) failed to translate the alleged defamatory articles into Bahasa Melayu.
“In my opinion, the requirement for complete pleadings in Bahasa Melayu is tritely attributed to the language’s supremacy as a national language. In this regard, the relevant provisions are enshrined in Article 152 of the Federal Constitution as well as Section 8 of the National Language Act 1963/67 and Order 92 Rule 1 of the Rules of Court 2012,” he said.
Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin also noted that although the plaintiff drew inferences regarding the true meaning of the defamatory articles, there was still no certified translation of the defamatory articles into Bahasa Melayu.
“On this sole basis, I am therefore constrained to hold that the defect is so fundamental that it is not permissible for me to allow the plaintiff’s claim,“ he added.
Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin further said that the court found that the first impugned defamatory article is clearly defamatory to the plaintiff if the defendant (Rewcastle-Brown) did not raise such a technical objection at the outset.
“The article clearly suggested that the plaintiff was involved in a conspiracy of some kind at the highest level to cheat the family of the late Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais of their rights to a second independent post-mortem report,” he said.
However, Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin said the plaintiff is not entitled to any compensation for damages resulting from the defamatory articles as a result of the failure to provide the certified translation in Bahasa Melayu.
“Therefore, the court dismisses the suit with costs of RM15,000,” he added.
Mabel, who had retired as a Sessions Court judge, filed the suit against Rewcastle-Brown in 2019 over articles linking her to alleged text messages sent to the family of Morais, who was murdered in September 2015.
She denied the alleged claim in the article and initiated the lawsuit to seek damages from Rewcastle-Brown, as well as a court order for the article to be removed from the Sarawak Report website.
Mabel was represented by counsel Datuk David Gurupatham while lawyer Guok Ngek Seong acted for Rewcastle-Brown.
