The Court of Appeal today unanimously allowed an appeal by PAS mouthpiece Harakah and Batu Burok assemblyperson Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi against a defamation suit by former Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Said over the school uniforms scandal.

Ahmad had won the suit at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur where Harakah and Syed Azman were ordered to pay RM200,000 in damages and RM30,000 in legal costs.

The appellate court has overturned the decision. Justice Varghese George Varghese - who was the second judge in the panel - said the court found that the defendants could rely on the defence of qualified privilege.

Furthermore, the court found that Ahmad ( photo ) did not plead that he was a victim of malice following the defendants claim of qualified privilege.

This shows that Ahmad had not complied with Order 78 rule (3) of the Rules of Court 2012 which is a mandatory requirement that must be adhered to, added the judge.

“A general statement cannot be accepted and a bare and mere allegation of malice cannot be accepted as particulars of malice must be specifically pleaded,” said Varghese, adding that parties are bound by the pleadings.

Justice Lim Yee Lan, who led the panel also ordered Ahmad to pay RM15,000 costs to Harakah. The other judge on the three-member bench was Justice P Nalini.

Harakah and Syed Azman was represented by the firm of Mohamed Hanipa Associates.

Article based on Audit report

Syed Azman had wrote an article in Harakah over the school uniform fiasco titled ‘ Seleweng RM30 juta Bantuan Sekolah ?’ (Embezzlement of RM30 million in School Aid?) which was published in Harakah ’s Nov 11 to 13 (2011) issue, suggesting there could be elements of corruption in its distribution.

This follows a 2010 Audit Report on the Terengganu government, which came up in 2011, where it was reported that some of the school uniforms were not distributed until May or June and that some were already eaten by termites.

As a result of Syed Azman's writing, Ahmad and the Terengganu government filed the suit on Dec 15 2011.

On Feb 28, last year at the KL High Court, Judicial Commissioner Rosilah Yop ( photo ) found that Harakah and Syed Azman had committed libel.

She ruled that the defendants failed to prove their defence of fair comment and qualified privilege in the article.

As Syed Azman claimed in the article over the possibility of corruption, the then Terengganu MB welcomed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate him over the matter.