Court dismisses stay application in Terengganu Sultanah’s defamation suit against Rewcastle-Brown

KUALA LUMPUR: The hearing of a defamation lawsuit filed by Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown will proceed after the High Court dismissed the latter’s application to stay the proceedings.

Lawyer Datuk Mohd Haaziq Pillay, who represented the Sultanah, confirmed that the stay application was dismissed by Judicial Commissioner Dr John Lee Kien How @ Mohd Johan Lee during online proceedings on Monday (March 28).

Mohd Haaziq said the court has fixed April 4 for case management to schedule the trial dates.

The court also ordered RM5,000 for costs.

Rewcastle-Brown’s lawyer Mervyn Lai said that the court dismissed the stay application on grounds that there were no special circumstances to justify it.

He said the court was also of the opinion that the stay application would deprive the plaintiff (the Sultanah) of having her case heard and decided.

On Nov 21, 2018, Sultanah Nur Zahirah sued Rewcastle-Brown or Clare Louis Brown, Chong and Vinlin Press, as the first to the third defendants, alleging that the first defendant made a disparaging statement about her in her book, “The Sarawak Report - The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose.”

Sultanah Nur Zahirah also claimed that the statement meant that she had helped fugitive businessman Jho Low or Low Taek Jho to become a TIA advisor.

The plaintiff claimed the statement could be taken to mean that she was involved in corrupt practices and interfered in Terengganu’s administration besides using her status to influence the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) which later became 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

She alleged the statement also construed her as having helped Jho Low or Low Taek Jho to become the adviser for TIA.

Sultanah Nur Zahirah contended that she had never involved herself in the administration of Terengganu state and the establishment of TIA and therefore the statement had slandered and tarnished her reputation.

She is claiming general damages of RM100mil from each defendant and is seeking an order for the second defendant (publisher) to withdraw the book containing the defamatory statement and for the third defendant to stop further printing of the book.

In their defence statements, the three defendants denied making allegations that the plaintiff was involved in corrupt practices.

Rewcastle-Brown also claimed that Sarawak Report had never suggested that the plaintiff was involved in a conspiracy involving Jho Low and had also never suggested that the plaintiff was involved in the government’s administration related to 1MDB affairs.