PETALING JAYA: The Court of Appeal has today dismissed Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s appeal against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s defamation suit over a 2008 “main belakang” remark, Malaysiakini reports.
A three-person bench chaired by Datuk Lee Swee Seng unanimously ruled that there was no appealable error that warrants the bench’s intervention.
The other bench members are Datuk Darryl Goon Siew Chye and Datuk Ghazali Cha.
Justice Goon said the defence put up by Khairy to rebut the suit had failed.
He said the defence of justification was not made out, whether in total or partially.
Anwar, who was represented by Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram and J Leela, was awarded RM50,000 in costs
Today was set for the decision on the former Umno Youth chief’s appeal against a Kuala Lumpur High Court ruling on Sept 29, 2017, which ruled he was liable for defaming Anwar with the remark made at a ceramah in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, in the run-up to the 12th general election (GE12) in 2008.
The lower court had ordered the Rembau MP to pay RM150,000 in damages to the Port Dickson MP.
