The Federal Court set Sept 10 to hear the Sarawak Report editor’s application
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has fixed September 10 to hear the application of Sarawak Report Editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown and two others for permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision, which found them responsible for defaming the Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah.
The date of the hearing was set at the case management proceedings before Federal Court Deputy Registrar Husna Dzulkifly here today.
Lawyer Datuk Mohd Haaziq Pillay Abdullah, representing Sultanah Nur Zahirah, confirmed the date and said the hearing will be held online through the Zoom application unless the court orders otherwise.
On May 30, the Federal Court adjourned the hearing after Rewcastle Brown’s lead lawyer, Americk Singh Sindhu, was unable to log into the online proceedings due to technical issues.
Judge Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan, who presided over the three-judge panel of the Federal Court, informed the relevant parties that the court would set a case management date to reschedule a new hearing date.
Rewcastle-Brown sought permission from the Federal Court to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision, which found her, publisher Gerakbudaya Enterprise Chong Ton Sin, and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd liable for defamation against Sultanah Nur Zahirah in her book, “The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (IMDB) Expose.”.
The Court of Appeal ordered compensation of RM300,000 to Sultanah Nur Zahirah for defamation.
On December 12, last year, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision on October 31, 2022, which rejected Sultanah Nur Zahirah’s RM100 million lawsuit against the editors, Chong and Vinlin Press.
The Court of Appeal ruled that at the time of publication of the book, the statement was intended to disparage the Sultanah through hatred, satire, or insult.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah filed a lawsuit in 2018, claiming that the defendants (Rewcastle-Brown, Gerakbudaya Enterprise, and Vinlin Press) had defamed her in the book.
