Keadilan leader Dr Chandra Muzaffar will allow the High Court to decide the amount of damages if he were to succeed in his suit against former Bank Negara assistant governor Abdul Murad Khalid.

"By deleting the quantum from my claim for damages, I am making a modest contribution to the process of refurbishing the image of the judiciary," he said in a press statement today.

In the defamation suit filed in November 1999, Chandra sued Abdul Murad for a total of RM70 million. He sought RM25 million for general damages and the rest for aggravated damages.

This morning, Chandra filed an amendment to his suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to delete the specified quantum of damages which he was seeking.

Aliran too filed an amendment today in their suit against Abdul Murad to delete the specified quantum of RM70 million damages they are seeking in their suit over Abdul Murad's allegations.

"With this amendment, Aliran leaves the award of damages to the wisdom of the Court," said the body in a separate press statement.

Aliran said that it welcomed Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah's clarification on the issue of the quantum of damages and wanted the chief justice to make clear immediately how the judicial system intend to rectify the present situation.

Chandra said in his statement mega defamation suits amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit have become a trend and it can have dangerous consequences to the country's legal and judicial system.

Part and parcel

"It glorifies money to such an extent that the legal process becomes a conduit for acquiring wealth. It makes a mockery of a person's reputation by requiring the courts to quantify the integrity of an individual in mere monetary terms," he said.

However, he added, his move to delete the quantum of damages does not diminish his determination to seek justice over Abdul Murad's alleged defamatory statements.

Chandra explained that mega awards can discourage people from speaking up against abuses and injustices. "I regard the curbing of and mega awards in defamation cases as part and parcel of the effort to restore the judiciary's integrity and dignity," he said.

He hoped others who have filed similar suits will follow his lead and drop their specified quantum of damages.

'Preposterous lie'

Chandra and Aliran are suing Abdul Murad after the latter said in his statutory declaration dated Oct 26, 1999, that Chandra and the human rights organisation Aliran received RM5 million from former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim between 1992 and 1997. Chandra was heading Aliran at that time.

Prior to the 1999 general-elections, Abdul Murad also claimed that Anwar amassed a 'slush fund' of RM3 billion ringgit which was used to pursue his political aims. Murad alleged that Aliran and Chandra were beneficiaries of the fund.

Chandra insisted that Abdul Murad's allegation was a "preposterous lie", and denied receiving any financial support from Anwar.

Changes needed

Last month, the Bar Council proposed an [#1] amendment[/#] to the Defamation Act to provide for 'an appropriate and rational relationship between the relevant harm to reputation and the amount of damages awarded'.

Dzaiddin had supported the calls to curb multi-million-ringgit libel awards, describing them as a "blot on the legal landscape" and "a deterrent to press freedom."

He said judges must increase [#2] judicial checks[/#] on the "troubling" amount of awards given in defamation suits, adding that the massive sums handed down in these suits created a tilted view that injuries to a man's reputation is more important than personal injury.

Minister in the Prime Minister's department Dr Rais Yatim had also reiterated that defamation damages must be in line with current needs and principles of law.

Highest award

Among the mega-suits for defamation in recent years include that of businessman Badrul Zaman PS Md Zakariah who is seeking RM1.3 billion from eight news organisations, tycoon Ting Pek Khiing who is seeking RM100 million from journalist MGG Pillai and Mirzan Mahathir who is seeking RM200 million from Dow Jones publications and four others.

To date, the highest amount awarded for defamation is RM10 million. This award to prominent businessman Vincent Tan was confirmed by the Federal Court last year. However, one of the defendants, who is Pillai, is seeking a review of the order.