Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) is pleased to announce that the appeal against the striking-off by the High Court of the defamation suit against me in my capacity as TI-M President was unanimously dismissed with costs by the Court of Appeal on Thursday 5 January 2012.
Dato’ Seri Tiong King Sing and Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (the Appellants) had sued me personally for defamation in respect of four articles on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco. In my defence, I had pleaded that the Appellants were not referred to in the articles, and two of the articles were not even published by me. I had also pleaded the defence of fair comment and qualified privilege.
On 26 July 2010, the High Court had struck out the Appellants’ suit with costs. Yesterday’s Court of Appeal decision brings further encouragement to me and TI-M.
TI-M wishes to place on record our deep appreciation and gratitude to counsels Datuk Ben Chan and Keith Yeoh and the dedicated team at the firm of Mah-Kamariyah & Philip Koh who handled this case on a pro-bono basis. Their professionalism, commitment and passion from the outset has been inspiring. Their support and the support of many others for TI-M, myself and the cause of fighting corruption in our beloved country give us great comfort and strength in continuing the good fight.
This Court of Appeal decision reaffirms TI-M’s conviction that truth and justice will prevail, and we will continue to speak out constructively without fear or favour in the fight against corruption and in promoting transparency, accountability and integrity.
Issued by
Transparency International Malaysia
Datuk Paul Low, President
