KUALA LUMPUR: Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic) has settled the full payment of RM1.4mil, including costs, to Lim Guan Eng as ordered by the High Court in a defamation suit.
Lim’s lawyer Guok Ngek Seong confirmed the matter when contacted by the press.
Guok said Muhyiddin paid the balance of RM1mil into his firm’s clients account on Thursday (Jan 24).
The Pagoh MP made two tranches of payment with the first being RM400,000 that was settled in December, last year.
The amount is part of RM1.4mil in damages in a defamation suit that the Bersatu president must pay to Lim in a court decision on Nov 8.
In the decision, Justice Roz Mawar Rozain allowed a conditional stay of execution to Muhyiddin by ordering him to pay RM400,000 before Dec 31, 2024, and the remaining balance before or on Jan 27.
The judge made a finding that Muhyiddin had defamed Lim over the former prime minister’s statement on Al-Bukhary Foundation’s tax exemption.
Justice Roz Mawar said Muhyiddin had resources at his disposal to verify and confirm whether his understanding was correct on the facts.
“Yet he did not do so and continued to make further defamatory statements against the plaintiff (Lim) after the latter had brought to his attention the falsity of such allegations in the defamatory statements,” she said.
The court ordered Muhyiddin to pay RM1.05mil in general damages; RM150,000 in aggravated damages; and RM150,000 in exemplary damages.
The Pagoh MP is also ordered to pay Lim RM50,000 in costs.
Lim had sued Muhyiddin over the latter’s statement on the cancellation of Yayasan Albukhary’s tax exemption.
On March 27, 2023, Lim filed the suit and named Muhyiddin as the sole defendant.
In his statement of claim, Lim said Muhyiddin had defamed him in Facebook posts after being released on bail by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on March 9, 2023.
Lim, who was finance minister from 2018 to 2020 during the Pakatan Harapan administration, claimed that Muhyiddin’s statement also implied that he had cancelled the approved tax exemption status given to Yayasan Al-Bukhary.
Lim, who is also Bagan MP, claimed the Perikatan Nasional chairman’s statements were made in order to divert attention away as he was in the media spotlight at that time.
Muhyiddin is appealing the decision.
