KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today that he is disappointed in the outcome of a defamation suit by DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng, and will be appealing the case.

In a brief statement, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman said he will however remove his related social media posts to comply with the decision.

"While I respect the decision of the Court, I am very disappointed in the outcome,” Muhyiddin said on Facebook.

"I have instructed my lawyers to appeal against the decision as I believe that my statements were not defamatory and that I have a good defence to the claim and that the amount that was awarded by the court was excessive.

"In compliance with the decision of the Court, I will be removing the postings that are the subject matter of this action from my Facebook and social media accounts,” he added.

The High Court earlier ordered Muhyiddin to pay RM1.35 million in damages to Lim for defaming the DAP chairman over the revocation of Albukhary Foundation’s tax exemption.

This followed a decision by Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain today that allowed Lim’s suit against Muhyiddin after finding that the former finance minister had proved his case against the former prime minister.

On March 27, 2023, Lim filed a lawsuit against Muhyiddin for allegedly making three Facebook defamatory statements on March 9, 11, and 12, 2023 involving him in the tax exemption issue.