Jamal Yunos ordered to pay Maria Chin RM300,000
> Ex-Bersih head wins suit against Red Shirt leader for linking her to IS
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court yesterday awarded damages of RM300,000 to Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah in her defamation suit against Red Shirt leader Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos for linking her to the Islamic State terrorist group (IS).
High Court judge Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab delivered his judgment after finding the speeches made by Jamal were clearly referring to the former Bersih 2.0 chairman although he did not mention her name.
“I also found that his speeches in its natural meaning were defamatory. His actions gave a negative impact to the plaintiff and stirred society’s hatred towards her,” he said in his judgment.
“The court takes into account if the defence managed to prove their (case). They have proved qualified privilege and fair comments,” he said.
However, Mohd Zaki said the defendant failed to prove he had the legal or moral duty to make such statements in public and failed to prove facts that were the basis of such comments.
The court also ordered for costs of RM40,000 to be paid to Maria, who was represented by lawyer N. Surendran while Jamal was represented by Nasir Yusof.
When met by reporters outside the courtroom, Maria said this clears Bersih’s agenda.
On Oct 7, 2016, Maria sued Jamal over defamatory remarks made on Sept 28 and Oct 4, 2016 by claiming that the Bersih 2.0 movement had been infiltrated by IS.
She further claimed Jamal had allegedly accused Bersih of plotting to encircle two international airports, KLIA and klia2, and key government buildings.