THE Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed an appeal by Kepala Batas Member of Parliament Dr Siti Mastura Muhammad, upholding a previous High Court decision that ordered her to pay substantial damages for defaming three prominent Democratic Action Party leaders.
The three-judge panel, led by Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid alongside Datin Evrol Mariette Peters and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar, ruled against the Perikatan Nasional representative while also rejecting a cross-appeal by the plaintiffs to increase the quantum of damages.
The legal battle originated from a speech delivered by Siti Mastura during a political rally in Kemaman on 4 November 2023, where she alleged that veteran politician Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, and Seputeh Member of Parliament Teresa Kok Suh Sim had familial ties to the late communist leader Chin Peng and Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
In the initial High Court ruling delivered on 4 December 2024, Judge Datuk Quay Chew Soon concluded that the statements were defamatory and entirely unsupported by evidence.
The judge further determined that the Member of Parliament had acted with malicious intent, leading him to reject her defences of fair comment and qualified privilege.
Consequently, the High Court ordered damages of RM300,000 for Kit Siang, RM250,000 for Guan Eng, and RM200,000 for Teresa Kok, in addition to RM25,000 in costs for each plaintiff.
Court records confirm that Siti Mastura has already settled the full payment of RM830,034.75, which covers the total damages, legal costs, and accrued interest.
The payment was processed via cheque to the legal firm representing the three DAP leaders.
The plaintiffs had maintained throughout the proceedings that the defendant made various direct and indirect statements suggesting they were connected to the communist party and were actively supporting and disseminating communist ideology within Malaysia.
With the Court of Appeal's decision to maintain the original judgment, the legal saga surrounding these specific allegations concludes with the previous findings of defamation and malice fully intact. - April 24, 2026
