KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng today filed a defamation lawsuit against Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for accusing him of cancelling tax exemptions for Yayasan Albukhary when the former was finance minister.

Lawyer Guok Ngek Seong, representing Lim, told Malay Mail when contacted that the lawsuit was filed in the High Court here this morning.

Guok said the alleged defamatory statements against Lim were made by Muhyiddin on March 9 and March 11 on the former prime minister’s Facebook account as well as his remarks on March 12 to the media.

In the court documents sighted by Malay Mail, Lim wants Muhyiddin to retract his statement, remove all those statements from his social media accounts, and make a public apology to him for those comments.

The former finance minister also wants the court to issue an injunction on Muhyiddin or his team barring them from making further comments on the matter.

The public apology must be published in all newspapers in Malaysia within seven days from the day of the judgement.

Muhyiddin’s remarks had alleged that Lim had back then as the finance minister been involved in the previous Pakatan Harapan government’s purported cancellation of the tax exemption status for charitable organisation Yayasan Albukhary, which was said to carry out work helping Muslims.

Lim disputes Muhyiddin’s allegations as untrue.

In a letter of demand to Muhyiddin on March 15 Lim wanted "full and unequivocal public retraction and apology” over those remarks, as well as an undertaking or promise to not repeat those allegations, and demanded Muhyiddin to propose a sum of money as compensation.

Lim has asserted that Muhyiddin had failed to show proof that the DAP leader had purportedly authorised or instructed the Inland Revenue Board to impose tax on Yayasan Albukhary.

He added that this showed that Muhyiddin’s remarks were baseless.

Lim said that he was suing as Muhyiddin failed to show remorse or repent for his statements.

He also said that without a restraint from the court, Muhyiddin would continue to publish those remarks he insists are defamatory.