02/11/2023
The Islamic orator Dr. Zakir Naik won case in a Malaysia, today Thursday 2 November 2023, the details below from (The Edge Newspaper) in Malaysia...👇
https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/688596
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): The High Court has ordered former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy to pay a total of RM1.52 million in damages and cost for defaming controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik through five of his statements made between 2016 to 2019.
High Court judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz found that Zakir discharged his burden in proving the tort of defamation and that Ramasamy's defence was without merit and untenable.
Hayatul in her decision on Thursday found that Ramasamy could not prove "the truth or appropriately justify" the publication of his statements that had defamed Zakir.
"Sans compelling evidence to establish the truth or justify the impugned defamatory statements, the defences taken by [Ramasamy] must necessarily fail.
"The animosity and malice in the unrelenting personal attacks of Dr Zakir in those impugned statements by P Ramasamy occurred and lasted from April 10, 2016 to Nov 8, 2019 [approximately three and half years]," the judge said.
Hayatul added that it was important to consider the actual words used and context of the statements. She said that after studying e background and complete facts of the case, she found that the statements issued were "undoubtedly defamatory" and "actuated by malice and anger" on the part of Ramasamy towards Zakir.
"Those impugned statements were personal attacks angled to disparage, ridicule and lower Zakir in the eyes of the general public," she said.
The judge ordered Ramasamy to pay RM1 million in general damages, RM100,000 in compensatory damages, RM100,000 in aggravated damages and RM 250,000 in exemplary damages in total for all five statements. Hayatul also ordered cost of RM 70,000.