KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday ordered PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali and four others to pay RM100,000 in damages to the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) after they were found liable of defaming Felda over articles that it had sold its crude palm oil to Israel.
Judge Lee Heng Cheong also ordered Mustafa Ali and four other defendants Harakah editor-in-chief Ahmad Lutfi Othman, editor Taufek Yahya, article writer Mohd Arif Atan and printer Harakah Angkatan Edaran Ent Sdn Bhd to pay a total of RM30,000 in costs to Felda.
However, the court dismissed Felda’s claim against the first defendant, National Felda Settlers’ Children’s Association (Anak) president Mazlan Aliman and ordered Felda to pay RM30,000 in legal costs to Mazlan.
“The first defendant has successfully proved his defence of qualified privilege and on a fair comment,” he said.
In allowing Felda’s suit against the five defendants, Justice Lee found that the two articles published by Mustafa in Harakah were capable defamatory of the plaintiff (Felda).
The judge also found that Felda had clearly proved that it did not sell its crude palm oil to Israel and the five defendats had also failed to prove their defences on qualified privilege and a fair comment.
Justice Lee in his decision said that Felda was a separate legal entity from
Felda IFFCO Oil Products Sdn Bhd and Felda Global Ventures Holdings Sdn Bhd and there was also no sale of crude palm oil to Bunge Agribusiness Singapore Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company.
“Bunge Agribusiness is not an Israeli company,” said the judge who made the ruling after hearing testimonies from six witnesses.
Counsel Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun represented Felda while counsel Azhana Mohd Khairuddin acted for all six defendants.
Later, Mohd Hafarizam told reporters that he would seek his client’s instruction whether to appeal over the court’s dismissal on Felda’s suit against Mazlan.
On Jan 7 last year, Felda sued the six and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, over a couple of articles titled “2,000 Himpun Bantah Felda Jual Minyak ke Israel” (‘2,000 Protest Felda’s Sale of Palm Oil to Israel’) and “BN Jangan Tipu Rakyat” (‘BN Don’t Cheat the People’) dated Nov 27, 2012, published in Suara Keadilan.
Felda in its statement of claim, said that Mazlan had uploaded on his Facebook page on Nov 19, 2012 a photograph of an invoice and a caption which was defamatory to Felda and had also made the same statement during a gathering in front of the Felda office four days later (Nov 23, 2012).
Felda claimed that the statement was republished by the second to sixth defendants in several Harakah newspaper articles between Nov 26 and 29 Nov, 2012.
It contended that the statement had affected Felda’s reputation and that the defendants had done so with the intention to achieve their personal agendas to destroy people’s faith in Felda.
However, Saifuddin on April 21 had reached a consent judgment over the defamation suit and had agreed to withdraw any imputations caused by the impugned articles in the party’s newspaper Suara Keadilan.
He also agreed to accept and acknowledge that Felda’s IFFCO Oil Product Sdn Bhd sent shipments to Palestine and not Israel on March 2010, Felda never sold crude palm oil to Israel or any Israel-owned companies and Felda and Felda IFFCO Oil Products Sdn Bhd were two separate legal entities. — Bernama