KUALA LUMPUR: Three lawyers, including Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim, today lost their suit against the Malaysian Bar over defamatory statements alleging that they abused and defamed the justice system while handling Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s final appeal in the SRC International Sdn Bhd fund case.
This followed a decision by High Court Judge Roz Mawar Rozain in dismissing the suit by Mohd Zaid, Liew Teck Huat and Rueben Mathiavaranam against the Malaysian Bar and its former president, Karen Cheah Yee Lynn, on the grounds that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the statements were defamatory.
According to the judge, the plaintiffs themselves, before publication, made various public disclosures including media interviews, social media posts and comments admitting their lack of preparation, criticising their former lawyers and applying for an adjournment which was ultimately rejected by the Federal Court.
“This court finds that on Aug 19, 2022, the plaintiffs’ reputation had been determined by the facts that were already in the public domain. In these circumstances, the disputed statements, although strongly worded, no longer significantly harm the plaintiffs’ reputation beyond what had already occurred,“ she said.
She said the court acknowledged that professional reputations deserve protection, but the legal threshold for a defamation claim is not met if the primary effect of a statement does not add to the reputational damage that has already occurred as a result of events and exposures that are not directly related to the disputed statements.
“This court found that the statements in the media statement did not affect the plaintiffs’ standing in the eyes of the reasonable public. Therefore, the tort of defamation was not proven,“ she said.
In addition, the judge said the plaintiffs’ claim of conspiracy also failed to be proven because there was no evidence of any agreement between the defendants to jointly harm the plaintiff.
“The second defendant (Cheah), as the then President of the Bar, acted within the scope of her powers when making a public statement on an issue of concern to the legal profession,“ said the judge, who did not issue any order on costs.
In the suit filed on Sept 30, 2022, the plaintiffs claimed that on Aug 19 of the same year, Cheah had wrongfully and maliciously published a press release titled “Abuse of Process Brings Disrepute to Our Justice System” on the official website of the Malaysian Bar and that the statement was also published by The Edge Markets, Malay Mail and The Star.
They claimed that the press release, among other things, meant that they had abused the court process and committed professional misconduct by accepting the case from Najib and having to face disciplinary proceedings for bringing the legal profession into disrepute.
The plaintiffs claimed that a complaint of misconduct against them for the handling of Najib’s appeal case should have been made and referred first to the Disciplinary Board under Section 99 (1) of the Legal Profession Act, but both defendants breached their statutory duty by issuing the press statement.
On July 26, 2022, Najib appointed Messrs Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners (ZIST) to represent him in his final appeal against his conviction and sentence in the Federal Court after terminating the services of Messrs Shafee & Co with immediate effect.
However, on August 19 of the same year, Najib terminated the services of ZIST as his legal counsel.
Najib has been serving his sentence in Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, after being convicted of misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International funds.
The High Court initially sentenced him to 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million, and the decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court after dismissing Najib’s appeal.
The former Pekan MP then filed a petition for royal pardon on Sept 2, 2022, which led to the reduction of his prison sentence from 12 years to six years and a fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
