UMNO Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh has defended referring to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok as a “nyonya tua” in court, saying the remark reflected his opinion about her age and was not defamatory.
In a witness statement presented at the Melaka High Court, Akmal said his description of Kok was a truthful observation based on her age.
“Regarding the reference to the plaintiff as a ‘nyonya tua’, this was my opinion concerning the plaintiff’s age, which I believe was a truthful observation,” he said.
Akmal also defended his controversial statement suggesting that the government place a non-halal logo on Kok’s forehead, claiming it was merely a figurative expression and could not reasonably be interpreted as a factual statement.
He told the court he was angry and disappointed by Kok’s remarks in Parliament, which he believed were insensitive and disrespectful towards Islam, but denied that his comments amounted to defamation.
Akmal said the video he posted on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram was intended as firm but reasonable political criticism and argued that he had both a political and social responsibility to speak on the issue, as many of his followers were UMNO supporters who shared his views.
Kok filed the lawsuit over a video uploaded on September 7, 2024, following a parliamentary debate on a proposal to make halal certification mandatory for certain restaurants and food businesses.
In the video, Akmal repeatedly referred to the six-term MP as “nyonya tua”, told her to remain silent if she did not understand Islam, accused her of disrupting national harmony, and suggested placing a non-halal logo on her forehead.
In her witness statement, Kok said her parliamentary remarks were solely about the potential costs and practical implications of making halal certification compulsory.
She stressed that she supports halal certification and recognises its importance to Muslim consumers and Malaysia’s halal industry, but questioned only the proposal to make it mandatory.
Kok argued that Akmal had wrongly portrayed her policy concerns as an attack on Islam, halal practices and racial and religious harmony.
She also described the forehead remark as degrading and dehumanising.
According to Kok, the TikTok video remained online as of July 22, attracting about 850,000 views, 80,300 likes, 9,546 comments, and 9,157 shares.
Former federal minister and ex-Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, who testified on Kok’s behalf, said it was normal for Members of Parliament to raise concerns expressed by their constituents while proposed policies were still under discussion.
He said making halal certification compulsory could increase operating costs, impose stricter sourcing requirements and require continuous inspections for small food businesses, potentially forcing some operators to close or change their offerings.
Khalid also said Akmal could have expressed his disagreement professionally without resorting to personal attacks, describing the forehead remark as extreme, degrading and intended to humiliate Kok.
He further rejected Akmal’s claim that Kok had threatened national harmony simply because around 50 police reports had been lodged against her, saying UMNO had sufficient members to file such reports.
Kok’s lawyer, S.N. Nair, said both parties are scheduled to present their final submissions on September 21 before Judicial Commissioner Isa Aziz Ibrahim.
Akmal is represented by lawyer Syahrul Syazwan Salehin.
