High Court Rejects Lecturer S Bid To Stay Damages Payment To Yeoh

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The High Court has ordered Kamarul Zaman Yusoff to pay RM400,000 in damages to Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh, who won a defamation suit against the Universiti Utara Malaysia lecturer in May.
The ruling follows judicial commissioner Avinder Singh Gill’s decision to dismiss Kamarul’s (above, left) application to stay the damages payment, finding that no special circumstances warranted a suspension.
“With today’s ruling, he is required to pay the damages,” Yeoh’s lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo, told reporters after the proceedings in chambers.
The court also ordered costs of RM2,500 against Kamarul.
His lawyer, Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz, stated that the court had applied the maximum assessment and found no special circumstances to justify a stay of payment for his client.
“The previous High Court judgment ordering RM400,000 in damages remains in force.
“My client is also required to pay the damages, as bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against him,” he said.
Proselytisation claim
On Aug 15, Yeoh, who is also the youth and sports minister, filed a bankruptcy notice against Kamarul after he failed to settle the damages.
On May 30, judge Aliza Sulaiman ordered Kamarul to pay RM400,000 in damages after upholding Yeoh’s defamation suit over statements made by the defendant eight years ago.
In her ruling, Aliza noted that the court was satisfied Yeoh had discharged the burden of proof on the balance of probabilities, establishing that both the first and second publications were defamatory.
The 2022 defamation suit stemmed from two of Kamarul’s Facebook posts between May 10 and 17, 2017, alleging that Yeoh had an agenda to convert others to Christianity and used her political platform to promote the religion.
Kamarul also cited Yeoh’s autobiography “Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey “ as evidence of the alleged agenda, claiming she intended to turn Malaysia into a Christian nation.
- Bernama

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