Teo Wins Defamation Suit Against Ex Journo S Unseen Hands Claim

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Former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching has won a defamation suit against a former journalist, Yazid Othman, over allegations of interfering in the history curriculum to “glorify” communists.
“In the summary of the grounds of judgment delivered in open court today, (the judge) Alice Loke found that the elements of defamation had been proven, and that Yazid had failed to establish his defences of justification, fair comment, and qualified privilege.
“Her Ladyship also found that there was malice in Yazid’s statements against me.
“I welcome this decision as justice has finally been served in this matter, and I have cleared my name of these unwarranted allegations,” she said in the statement today.
She said the Shah Alam High Court judge awarded her with RM200,000 in damages plus an interest of five percent per annum, and RM30,000 in costs.
Teo was the deputy education minister from 2018 until 2020, as part of the Pakatan Harapan-led administration at the time.
She is now the deputy communications minister.
Controversy
In February 2021, a controversy erupted when the then Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki took issue with two pages in the Form Four history textbook about the role of radical Malay leftist leaders in fighting for independence and the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army’s (MPAJA) battle against the Japanese occupation.
He claimed this was a “planned effort” by the earlier Harapan administration to brainwash students and “subtly glorify communists and the MPAJA as heroes and freedom fighters”.
At a forum on Feb 26, 2021, to discuss the controversy, where Asyraf was also present, Yazid claimed there was an “unseen hand” manipulating the contents of Form Four history textbooks to “glorify communists” as independence fighters.
He claimed at the forum that the allegation was made based on information he obtained himself after meeting with officials from the Education Ministry.
“An insider himself gave us the information, saying he received a phone call from the Harapan deputy education minister, saying, ‘You change this history book with the information I am sending now. It will reach you in 15 minutes. When you receive it, print it’,” he claimed the source said.
Yazid was speaking in his capacity as the deputy chairperson of the Coalition of NGOs for Rejecting Form Four History Textbooks at the time.
Although he did not mention the name outright, it is clear that Teo was the deputy education minister during the Harapan administration. - Mkini

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