Court to deliver decision in Terengganu Sultanah’s defamation suit against Rewcastle-Brown, two others on Oct 31

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed Oct 31 to deliver its decision in the defamation lawsuit filed by Sultanah of Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown and two others.

Judicial Commissioner Dr John Lee Kien How @ Mohd Johan Lee set the date after hearing submissions from parties in an online proceedings here on Tuesday (Set 20).

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Sultanah Nur Zahirah filed the suit against Rewcastle-Brown and publisher Gerakbudaya Enterprise publisher Chong Ton Sin and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd as the defendants over an alleged defamatory statement in the book, "The Sarawak Report – The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose".

She is claiming general damages of RM100mil from each of the defendants.

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Sultanah Nur Zahirah filed the suit on Nov 21, 2018, claiming that the said statement, among others, meant that she was involved in corruption and interfering in the administration of the Terengganu government, besides using her status to influence the establishment of TIA, later known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The plaintiff contended that the statement meant that she had helped fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or better known as Jho Low, to become a TIA adviser.

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The three defendants denied making the allegation that the plaintiff was involved in corrupt practice.

Rewcastle-Brown also claimed that Sarawak Report did not suggest that the plaintiff was involved in a conspiracy involving Low and did not suggest that the plaintiff was involved in the government's administration over the affairs of 1MDB.

The Sultanah appeared before the court in an online conference on Aug 1 where she testified that she has never interfered in the administration of the state government and did not even know about the setting up of TIA or 1MDB.

Rewcastle-Brown testified via online conference from London and said that it was an "honest mistake" in the passage she wrote in 2018.

"There was no malice in my writing of the passage in the said book.

"I do not know the plaintiff (Sultanah Nur Zahirah) personally and my work has not shown any improprieties on her part. I have no reason to defame her and I certainly did not intend for the passage to injure her reputation or degrade her.”