A seven-member Federal Court bench unanimously ruled in March last year that political parties cannot institute action on defamation. The landmark judgement was made in a defamation lawsuit which was filed against me by MCA.
This apex court decision will not only annul UMNO’s threat to sue both Malaysiakini and Astro AWANI over alleged defamatory articles, but make UMNO appear lacking in grey matter for wasting the court’s time.
Why hasn’t any of the 38 UMNO MPs told the party about the latest principle of law in Malaysia regarding defamation suits by political parties? Or, is UMNO so bogged down by infighting that it can no longer function as a government ruling party?
If any fake news is published by the media, UMNO should instruct its members to lodge complaints with the relevant authorities, such as the police and the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, not sue the media in court for defamation.
In the modern world, the media is given the status of being the fourth pillar of democracy to protect the freedom of press. For this reason, the media houses in Malaysia should just ignore any political threats. UMNO and its coalition Barisan Nasional should also be reminded that gone were the days, when the media could be banned to protect corrupt political parties. The 1MDB scandal is a case in point. Period.