KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 ― The High Court here today ordered former Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy to pay more than RM1 million in damages for defaming independent preacher Zakir Naik.

This followed Judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz's decision in allowing two suits by Zakir.

The judge also ordered the defendant (Ramasamy) to pay the said amount to the plaintiff (Zakir) within 30 days from today.

The two suits were filed respectively in October and December 2019.

Ramasamy attended court while Zakir joined online proceedings as he is in Nigeria for a talk.

In her judgment, judge Hayatul Akmal ruled that Zakir had succeeded in discharging his burden on defamation while the evidence of Ramasamy was primarily untenable to negate these two suits against him.

“I take the evidence by Ramasamy in his defence with an abundance of caution. I am unpersuaded by his arguments. It is my considered view that the evidence of Ramasamy is primarily untenable to negate these two suits against him.

“In my considered determination, Zakir has satisfied three essential elements of the tort of defamation. Looking at the background and complete facts of the present case, the demeanour of Ramasamy in the context in which it was issued, five statements are undoubtedly defamatory that were actuated by malice and anger on the part of Ramasamy towards Zakir.

“Those impugned statements were personal attacks angled to disparage, ridicule and lower Zakir in the eyes of the general public,” she said.

The damages include RM1 million for general damages, RM100,000 for compensatory damages, RM100,000 for aggravated damages, and RM250,000 for exemplary damages.

The judge ordered Ramasamy to pay RM70,000 in costs to Zakir.

At the end of today's proceedings, the judge also ordered Ramasamy to make a public apology to Zakir but Ramasamy’s counsel Razlan Hadri Zulkifli informed the court they would file an application to stay the need for the defendant to apologise to Zakir, pending their appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Zakir filed the first suit against Ramasamy over the politician’s four alleged defamatory statements issued on April 10, 2016; October 1, 2017; August 11, 2019; and August 20, 2019.

In relation to the first purportedly defamatory statement made on April 10, 2016, Ramasamy was alleged to have defamed Zakir through the defendant’s Facebook posting.

The second purportedly defamatory statement was issued on October 1, 2017, through the article “Is Malaysia harbouring alleged fugitive Zakir Naik?”, which was published by online news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

The third allegedly defamatory statement was made on August 11, 2019 through the article “Naik should not question the loyalty of Hindus in Malaysia”, which was also carried by FMT.

Ramasamy was also alleged to have defamed the plaintiff through a video interview which the defendant gave to India-based media platform India Today on August 20, 2019.

Zakir also filed a second suit over the article titled “DAP leader accuses Zakir camp of ‘faking’ Tamil Tigers revival” where the plaintiff claimed that Ramasamy had defamed him through his comments published in The Malaysian Insight on November 8, 2019. ― Bernama