[UPDATED] Azam Baki’s defamation battle against whistle-blower to commence on Feb 15

KUALA LUMPUR – The legal showdown between the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki and whistle-blower Lalitha Kunaratnam is set to begin at the high court here on February 15.

According to The Star, the court fixed the date for case management of the defamation suit filed by Azam.

The report in the daily found that the date was fixed for mention via e-review before senior assistant registrar Noordura Mohamed Din at 9am, based on an entry in the court’s e-filing system.

Azam decided to sue Lalitha for RM10 million in damages despite declaring the commission’s unwavering commitment to protecting whistle-blowers under the law.

According to a statement by Azam’s lawyer Megat Abdul Munir yesterday, the firm filed a claim for defamation at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today over articles written by Lalitha published on the Independent News Service on October 26 and December 15 last year.

The articles alleged impropriety on Azam’s part, especially with regards to ownership of corporate shares.

In the statement of claim filed yesterday, Azam sought, among others, an injunction against Lalitha, her agents, and her family from making any defamatory statements against him.

Azam also demanded that within three days from the date of a judgement favourable to him, Lalitha retracts and deletes any statements injurious to his reputation, in addition to making a public apology.

As plaintiff, Azam referred to two articles written by Lalitha titled Business Ties Among MACC Leadership: How Deep Does It Go? (Part 1) and Business Ties Among MACC Leadership: How Deep Does It Go? (Part 2).

The headlines of the articles themselves, Azam said, are “sensational, scandalous, annoying, and vilifying”.

“This is because (when the articles) were drafted, published and republished, it was done with malice and bad faith, so that readers would conclude that the plaintiff (Azam) is a corrupt civil servant who abuses his position for his and his sibling’s self-interest,” the statement of claim read.

Besides the news articles, Azam also pointed to Lalitha’s tweets, which include the display of a diagram suggesting the MACC chief’s ties to various businesses.

“What’s worse is that following the publication of the tweets, it has received an overwhelming response from readers and it has obtained over 44 comments and more than 1,000 retweets,” the statement of claim said. – The Vibes, January 13, 2021