I welcome the decision by Kamarul Zaman bin Haji Yusoff to retract his defamation suit against me for an alleged “defamatory” Facebook post in 2020. He has filed a notice of discontinuance in court on 30 January 2024 with costs in the sum of RM5,000.00 to be paid to me, without liberty to file afresh.
In 2020, Kamarul Zaman made the comment “Using religion to win the state election?” on a banner featuring my image, insinuating that I employed religious tactics while campaigning during the Sabah state elections. I promptly responded, highlighting his attempt to stoke racial and religious sentiments. Instead of retracting his statement and offering me an apology at that time, he decided to initiate a defamation lawsuit against me.
I made it clear that I was thoroughly prepared to defend myself.
Therefore, his withdrawal of this defamation suit is not only timely but also confirms my steadfast position that I did not exploit race and religion in my campaign, rendering his accusations against me baseless and unsubstantiated.
Now that the suit has been withdrawn, I wish to lay this matter to rest. A big thank you to my lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo for her effort in this case.
**Note : I have also sued Kamarul Zaman for defamation in relation to his writings about my book Becoming Hannah and I will proceed with my suit against him.
