Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor will be taking Malay daily Utusan Malaysia to court over an article which led the prosecution to charge him for making 'seditious' statement to a reporter in March last year.

Ezam gave instruction to sue on Thursday after Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail withdrew the charge preferred against him (Ezam) under the Sedition Act, said one of his lawyers Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.

Shamsul said details of the suit has yet to be finalised. However, he told malaysiakini that the court action is likely to be a defamation suit claiming that the article published on the front page of its March 4, 2001 issue was not only baseless but also made in bad faith.

"We will be meeting Ezam in Lunas soon for another court case and will take the opportunity to discuss the matter further. We hope to settle everything within a month and file the suit as soon as possible," Shamsul said when contacted today.

In a statement, Shamsul said the prosecution's decision to withdraw the charge proved that the article was libellous and aimed to discredit his reputation as Keadilan Youth leader.

"Ezam had informed me that it was the reporter (Yusri) who had called him for an interview and not the other way around. The conversation was exploited in such a callous manner that a front page article was published alleging that Ezam was planning a giant street demonstration to overthrow the government through illegal means," he said.

Media rampantly misused

Ezam was of the opinion that the legal course is necessary to ensure that the media acts responsibly.

"It's public knowledge that the media is rampantly misused by irresponsible parties to curb freedom of speech. It is therefore essential to take legal action in order to stop such media abuse," Shamsul added.

In March last year, Ezam claimed trial to the charge which alleged that he had uttered seditious words to Utusan Malaysia reporter Yusri Sahat at the publication's headquarters, No 46M, Jalan Chan Sow Lin at 2pm on March 3, last year.

After several postponements, High Court judge S. Augustine Paul acquitted Ezam on Thursday after Gani told the court that he was exercising his discretion to withdraw the charge.

On Wednesday, Ezam was sentenced to two years' jail by the Petaling Jaya sessions court who found him guilty of wrongfully communicating official secrets in 1999. He is serving his sentence at the Kajang Prison.

Ezam has been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since April last year for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government by "militant means" including violent demonstrations. Also detained under the ISA for the same reason are other Keadilan leaders Tian Chua , Badrul Amin, Lokman Nor Adam and malaysiakini columnist Hishamuddin Rais.