[UPDATED] PM gets injunction against news portal to remove article

KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here has granted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob an ex-parte injunction against a news portal to remove an article that is allegedly defamatory towards him. 

According to the injunction order, Agenda Daily Media Enterprise – which owns the website named Agenda Daily – is required to remove its article titled “Ismail Sabri bimbang jadi PM paling singkat, ‘rayu’ jangan tarik sokongan” (“Ismail Sabri is worried about being the PM with the shortest term, begs for support not to be withdrawn”). 

According to Berita Harian, the portal has also been ordered not to issue any statement that suggests Ismail is desperate to maintain his prime minister post, and that he has begged, or will beg, any political party not to pull their support for him.

Lawyer Joshua Tan, who is representing Ismail, was quoted as saying that the order made by high court judicial commissioner Evrol Mariette Peters is meant to apply for the next 21 days.

He added that the court has fixed March 4 for the inter-parte hearing. 

A check on the portal found that the article was still up at 6.13pm.

The injunction is related to a defamation suit filed by Ismail against Agenda Daily Media.

Berita Harian reported that in his writ of summons and statement of claim, Ismail, as the plaintiff, said that on January 30 this year, Agenda Daily had published the article, which, if read in its entirety, contained ill-intentioned assertions against him.

On February 5, Agenda Daily journalist Md Izwan Zubit had his statement recorded by investigators at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters for nearly 90 minutes, after an aide to the prime minister lodged a police report against him for supposedly defaming Ismail through the article, which was a political commentary.

The article in question was published on the Agenda Daily portal on January 30 this year without a by-line. – The Vibes, February 18, 2022