KUALA LUMPUR – Former Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam has been ordered by the high court here to remove social media content post uploaded on August 22 alleging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had met with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to hatch a plan to remain in power.
The ex-parte injunction application was allowed by high court judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain pending the civil defamation suit filed by the prime minister in his personal capacity.
Ismail Sabri’s lawyer Ragunath Kesavan told Bernama that the court order is for Lokman to remove the postings from his accounts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
“The court also issued an injunction to prevent the defendant either himself or his agents from making similar statements on social media or any other website belonging to the defendant,” he said when met by reporters after the proceeding, which was held in chambers.
The judicial commissioner has set 3pm on September 26 for an inter-partes hearing regarding the injunction.
Ismail Sabri, who is Umno vice-president, filed the defamation suit in his personal capacity through the legal firm of Messrs Kesavan on September 8, naming Lokman, 49, as the sole defendant.
The prime minister is seeking general and exemplary damages, as well as interest, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.
In the statement of claim, Ismail Sabri stated that Lokman had on August 22 made defamatory statements against him in a video, with the title Bila Presiden UMNO Panggil Tak Datang! Tapi PM Ada Masa Jumpa Mahathir - Lokman Adam (When Called by UMNO President, He Doesn't Come! But the PM Has Time to See Mahathir - Lokman Adam).
He claimed the malicious, defamatory and untrue statements were uploaded on four social media accounts belonging to the defendant – Lokman Adam YouTube, Lokman Noor Adam Official Facebook, lokmanooradam Instagram and datoklokmanadam Tik Tok.
According to Ismail Sabri, the words meant, among others, that he had met with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and planned or intended to plan with the former prime minister and other opposition political parties to keep his position by turning his back on Umno and betraying the party.
Ismail Sabri claimed that he had never met with Dr Mahathir and other political parties to ensure he remained as prime minister, nor engaged in unprincipled measures to prevent the dissolution of Parliament for a general election for the same reason.
He stated that he had never abused his power as prime minister to interfere with the legal proceedings against Datuk Seri Najib Razak to ensure that the former prime minister was convicted and subsequently imprisoned.
According to him, as a result of the defamatory words, which he claimed were made with malicious intent, his reputation as an Umno member, the party’s vice-president and as prime minister, as well as his political career, was affected.
The Bera MP said a letter of demand, dated August 25, was issued for the defendant to delete the video from his social media and issue an apology to the plaintiff. Still, so far the defendant has failed to do so. – The Vibes, September 12, 2022
