KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday dismissed an application by Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos to strike out a suit filed by Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok Suh Kim over alleged misuse of Yayasan Warisan Anak Selangor (Yawas) funds.
Judicial Commissioner Quay Chew Soon, sitting in chambers, dismissed the application on grounds it had no merit.
Lawyer K. Murali, representing Kok, told reporters that the court also ordered Jamal to pay costs of RM3,000 and for the trial to proceed.
The court set Jan 14 for case management, he added.
Jamal filed the application on April 25 last year on grounds that there was no reasonable basis for the plaintiff’s claim.
Kok filed the suit on April 6, 2017 over Jamal’s alleged defamatory statement pertaining to Yawas’ funds during a news conference on March 8, 2017.
In the statement of claim, Kok stated that the statement was published by the print and electronic media, as well as on Jamal’s Facebook page.
Kok, who is also Seputeh MP, claimed that the defamatory statement, among others, gave the impression that she had misused state government funds for her own use and was an unethical person.
She is seeking RM1 million in general damages, compensatory damages, aggravated damages and exemplary damages, and an injunction to prevent Jamal from making further such claims in the media. — Bernama