The High Court in Shah Alam has found financial daily The Edge liable to pay damages to Deputy Finance Minister Senator Awang Adek Hussin in a defamation suit he filed against it.

NONE This involves an article published in the daily, "Ascot given preference due to its experience, says MoF".

Judge Zaleha Yusof in her decision yesterday said the deputy minister ( right ) had successfully proven negligence as claimed, and ordered damages to be assessed by the deputy registrar.

Justice Zaleha also ordered The Edge to pay RM8,000 in costs.

Awang Adek named The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd, its editor-in-chief Dorothy Teoh, former senior writer Chan Kok Leong and KHL Printing Co Sdn Bhd as defendants.

He is seeking RM10 million as damages in the suit he filed on Aug 18 last year through the firm of Che Mokhtar & Ling.

In the deputy minister's statement of claim, Awang Adek said the July 9, 2010 publication was libelous as he denied ever making such statements at a press conference, parliament or at any other forum that approval was given to Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd, a company linked to tycoon Vincent Tan.

In its natural and ordinary meaning, the article meant that as deputy finance minister he had been directly involved in approving sports gambling or was directly involved in the decision which set the terms and conditions for  approving the betting license.

It also meant that he had legalised football sports betting in Malaysia in the wake of last year's World Cup meet, and that he had made the claims in reply to a question from Pokok Sena MP, Mahfuz Omar and had backed the awarding of the license. 

Made target of critcisim

Awang Adek, claimed that as a result of the publication, he faced criticism from Malays and Muslims in Malaysia, for not respecting Islam which prohibits gambling and that he was responsible for approving the license for Ascot.

Claiming the article was false, Awang Adek said the prime minister as finance minister had announced on June 25, 2010, that no sports betting licence would be approved.

 Following this, the deputy minister wanted the daily to withdraw the article and is seeking RM10 million in general damages, aggravated damages, interest, and costs.

The Edge , Teoh and Chan in their defence denied what the statement of claim had stated to its natural meaning or innuendo, and wanted that it be interpreted in the context of the whole article.

 It claimed that the article as a whole was a report of parliamentary proceedings and the Financial Ministry's official position and government in response to a question that had been raised by a member of the opposition party and not the personal views of the plaintiff.

The daily claimed the words contained in an official written statement prepared by the Finance Ministry in response to questions raised by Mahfuz, and was released to journalists present in parliament on July 7.

It claimed that a personal apology was issued on July 9, and a corection and apology was also published.

It is learnt that the defendants will appeal the court decision.