Utusan Melayu (M) Sdn Bhd today applied to amend its defence in the assessment of damages to be awarded to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim by including his recent conviction of sodomy at the Court of Appeal.

 

Anwar had won the suit for defamation against the publisher of the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia daily in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur last year.

Judge VT Singham had ruled that the daily's publication of two articles in January 2012 on the politician's stance on homosexual, lesbian and transgender activities, carried by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), was wrongly reported to say he supported such activities.

 

Following the publication of the articles, Anwar had filed the suit against Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd and its chief editor Abdul Aziz Ishak ( left ) and the High Court ruled the articles were indeed damaging to Anwar's reputation and had exposed him to ridicule and scorn.

 

The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's decision early this year, with its three-member panel ruling that the articles were indeed defamatory and there was no merit to allow the appeal.

 

Anwar's lawyer Latheefa Koya told Malaysiakini today that the assessment for damages had been postponed many times before the High Court and today Utusan Melayu's lawyer Mohd Firoz Ahmad Jamaluddin made this application.

 

Latheefa ( right ) described the application as unwarranted and without basis.

 

“Despite this, KL High Court judge Justice Hue Siew Kheng has fixed Aug 1 to hear the application,” she added.

 

Anwar was convicted on the Sodomy II charge by the Court of Appeal in February this year and sentenced to five years' jail, when it overturned the KL High Court decision of 2012.

Damning judgment

At the KL High Court, Justice Singham gave a damning judgment to Utusan Malaysia when he said the Umno-owned daily practised irresponsible journalism.

He said Anwar’s statement was taken out of context by Utusan , as in the BBC interview it was crystal clear Anwar said he was not supportive of the notion that homosexual, lesbian and transgender activities should be legalised.

“The ( Utusan ) article published is incorrect, distorted and taken out of context, and it cannot be reconciled.

“The purpose the article was published was to say Anwar is condoning it. The defendants have not acted professionally in publishing a correction when a legal letter was sent a week after the publication by Anwar’s lawyers, and have ignored altogether from publishing an apology,” Justice Singham said.