Court dismisses defamation lawsuit by Terengganu Sultanah against Rewcastle-Brown

Terengganu’s Sultanah Nur Zahirah (left) and Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown.

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Terengganu's Sultanah Nur Zahirah against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown and two others.

Judicial Commissioner Dr John Lee Kien How @ Mohd Johan Lee, in his brief decision, said the court did not find defamatory imputation from the statements made in the book, "The Sarawak Report – The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose".

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Despite a factual error in the statement – where Rewcastle-Brown admitted she mistakenly referenced the Sultanah instead of the Sultan's sister – the JC said he did not see negative connotations from the two imputations in the case.

"To sum it up, I see no defamatory imputation from the statements, although there was obviously a matter of mistaken identity.

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"Thus, the plaintiff's case is hereby dismissed," he said in a proceeding held online on Monday (Oct 31).

The court also ordered a RM80k global cost to be paid to the three defendants.

Apart from Rewcastle-Brown, the other two defendants are publisher Gerakbudaya Enterprise and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd.