KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — The High Court here today proposed that the suit filed by Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (Finas) board member and actor, Datuk Seri Eizlan Yusof, against Datuk Hans Isaac be referred to the Mediation Centre for amicable settlement.
Eizlan, or real name Idris Md Yusof, 50, as the plaintiff, filed a suit against former Finas chairman, Gerald Hans Isaac or Hans Isaac, 50, as the defendant, in relation to allegations of abuse of power to obtain funds for a production company, Excellent Pictures Sdn Bhd (EPSB).
Lawyer Datuk Shaharudin Ali, who represented Eizlan, when contacted by reporters, said that Judge Datuk Azimah Omar suggested that both parties refer the suit to the High Court Mediation Centre, or by any other way to resolve the issue.
“During today’s proceeding, the court also set Aug 12 for further case management to update developments on the matter (settlement),” he said, adding that the online proceeding was also attended by another Eizlan’s lawyer, Noor Azfar Azmi, while lawyer Isa Aziz Ibrahim is representing Hans Isaac.
In his statement of claim, filed on Feb 8, Eizlan claimed that on Nov 16, 2020, at 9.13 pm, Hans Isaac had purportedly written, published and posted a defamatory statement to the ‘Persatuan Penerbit Filem Malaysia’ (Malaysian Film Producers Association) group chat, comprising 200 members including film and television drama producers as well as art industry activists, including plaintiffs and defendants, which later circulated to other social media platforms.
Eizlan claimed that the defamatory statement, among others, insinuated that he took advantage of his position as Finas board member to illegally obtain financial assistance from the government for EPSB, while he had nothing to do with the company in any capacity and action. The insinuation made by the defendant had caused him to lose his dignity, and be insulted and shunned by the general public.
The plaintiff, among others, is seeking RM2mil in general damages, as well as aggravated and exemplary damages, interest and costs, apart from demanding that the defendant issue an apology.
Hans Isaac, in his statement of defence filed on March 17, said that the plaintiff’s claims that he had nothing to do with EPSB were untrue because, although the plaintiff did not have any position or shares in the company, he had acted in films and drama series produced by the company.
The defendant claimed that he only sent the statement to the Whatsapp group which is a closed group and any information or anything circulated outside the chat group is the responsibility of the group admins as they had created the group. — Bernama
