KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor won his defamation suit against Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail over allegations of rare earth element (REE) theft and financial mismanagement.
The Alor Setar High Court ordered Saifuddin to pay RM600,000 in damages and RM70,000 in legal costs after ruling that his remarks were defamatory, according to New Straits Times.
The suit stemmed from two statements made by Saifuddin during the Kedah state election campaign in July 2023.
Sanusi contended that the remarks, which alleged misuse of Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris) allocations and hinted at his involvement in misconduct related to rare earth elements, harmed his reputation and insinuated corrupt behaviour.
High Court Judge John Lee Kien How @ Mohamad Johan Lee said in his ruling that the defendant failed to prove, on a balance of probabilities, any factual basis to support his allegations.
The court found that the statements referred to Sanusi, were published by Saifuddin, and carried defamatory meaning.
The defence of fair comment was rejected after the judge ruled that the remarks were not grounded in verified facts.
Sanusi had initially sought RM5 million in total damages, including general, aggravated and exemplary claims.
The court awarded global damages of RM600,000 in line with prevailing practice, along with RM70,000 in costs and ordered Saifuddin to publish an apology in one Malay-language and one English-language newspaper within 14 days, subject to Sanusi’s approval.
The court also issued a permanent injunction barring Saifuddin from republishing the statements.
Sanusi was represented by Wan Rohimi Wan Daud, Yusfarizal Yussof, Mohd Faizi Che Abu and Nur Iffah Hizwani Omar.
The defence team comprised Navpreet Singh, William Leong and Sakina Siraj.
