Sept 20-21 trial for minister Yeo’s defamation suit against Jamal Yunos

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has set two days for trial from Sept 20 for Energy, Green Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin’s suit against Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos in connection with the Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor ( Yawas) fund.

Lawyer K Murali, representing Yeo, informed reporters after management on the case which was held in chambers before Judge Datuk Nik Hasmat Nik Mohamad yesterday.

He said the parties involved in the case were still negotiating to resolve the suit, and in the event they failed to resolve it, the trial would be heard on Sept 20-21.

On June 14, 2017, Yeo, as the plaintiff, filed the lawsuit seeking for RM5 million in compensation from Jamal, as the defendant, for his defamatory statement over the alleged abused of Yawas fund.

In the statement of claim, Yeo, who is also Bakri MP, claimed that the defendant had issued a defamatory statement on March 21, last year, and the statement was published by several newspapers, news portals and on Jamal’s Facebook account.

Yeo claimed that Jamal’s statement, among others, gave the impression that she had abused public fund for personal use and painted her as an unethical and unreliable person.

Apart from RM5 million of general damages, Yeo was also seeking compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages and an injunction to prevent Jamal from repeating his allegations. — Bernama