Kepala Batas Member of Parliament Dr Siti Mastura Muhammad has failed in her bid to overturn a defamation ruling brought by three DAP veterans and leaders over allegations linking them to communism.
The three plaintiffs are DAP veteran Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, former party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok Suh Sim.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed Siti Mastura’s appeal, upholding the earlier High Court decision which ordered her to pay RM830,034.75 in damages and legal costs.
The bench, chaired by Justice Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, also rejected a cross-appeal by the three DAP leaders seeking an increase in the damages awarded by the High Court.
The other judges on the panel were Datin Evrol Mariette Peters and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar.
Previously, on December 4, 2024, the Penang High Court had allowed the defamation suit, finding that Siti Mastura’s remarks linking the plaintiffs to communist connections were defamatory and unsupported by evidence.
The court ruled that the statements were made with malice and dismissed her defence of fair comment and qualified privilege.
As a result, she was ordered to pay RM300,000 to Lim Kit Siang, RM250,000 to Lim Guan Eng, and RM200,000 to Teresa Kok, along with RM25,000 in costs to each plaintiff.
Siti Mastura has since settled a total of RM830,034.75, including damages, legal costs, and interest, paid via cheque to the plaintiffs’ legal representative, which was confirmed during proceedings conducted via Zoom.
The lawsuit stemmed from a speech she delivered during a ceramah at the Muslimat and Ameerah gathering for the Kemaman by-election on November 4, 2023, where she allegedly made remarks suggesting that the plaintiffs had links to the Communist Party, its leader Chin Peng, and Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The plaintiffs argued that the statements implied direct and indirect associations with communism and the promotion of its ideology in Malaysia.
