KUALA LUMPUR – A fresh injunction has been issued against Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zakarshi, barring him from putting up more Facebook posts against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
High court judge Mohd Firuz Jaffril granted the temporary injunction today pending Puad’s bid to have the previous one removed.
“The court will hear us on May 24, as he (Puad) has filed an application to set aside our ex parte injunction,” Muhyiddin’s lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, told Free Malaysia Today.
Rosli said Puad’s lawyers yesterday served affidavits on them.
Puad’s lawyer, G. Rajasingam, said they did not object to the new injunction, pending the court hearing.
The new injunction will come into effect after the current one expires on March 21.
Muhyiddin is suing Puad for defamation after the Umno man asserted that the three-day quarantine rule for ministers returning from overseas was made because Muhyiddin refused to undergo isolation after an overseas trip to Jakarta.
The court had granted Muhyiddin’s ex parte application for a temporary injunction to stop Puad from publishing the alleged Facebook post or other similar posts.
On February 16, Muhyiddin issued a letter of demand for Puad to remove the offending Facebook post, issue a public apology, provide a written undertaking that he will refrain from making similar posts against the prime minister, and pay a compensation of RM10 million.
In a Facebook post on February 19, Puad confirmed his receipt of a letter of demand from Muhyiddin’s lawyer.
“As an individual whose freedom of speech is enshrined, I will not allow myself to be bullied by Muhyiddin as how Umno is being bullied.
“I choose to take this to court. This will give me the opportunity to join the public in protesting the practice of ‘antara dua darjat’ (double standards) when it comes to quarantine.”
Puad said he is being accused of defaming the prime minister when he was merely asking for an explanation. – The Vibes, March 12, 2021
