The Federal Court today upheld the decisions of the Court of Appeal and High Court and ordered New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd to pay former PAS vice-president Husam Musa RM350,000 for defaming him.

A three-member panel headed by Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin also rejected NSTP's request for leave to appeal on the liability and quantum for damages.

"We dismiss the leave application and the plaintiff is ordered to pay RM15,000 costs to Husam," the court further ruled.

With this, NSTP has now exhausted its legal options.

The other two judges sitting with Justice Zulkefli were Federal Court judges Suriyadi Halim Omar and Ahmad Ma'arop.

Lawyer Md Yunos Sharif told Malaysiakini outside the court after the proceedings that all in all, NSTP, which took the case to the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, the Court of Appeal and to the Federal Court, was ordered to pay RM85,000 in costs.

On May 5, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's decision that there was no merit in the appeal . This panel was led by former Court of Appeal judge Justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus ( photo ).

Last year, the High Court judge Justice Su Geok Yiam ordered NSTP to pay the damages.

Media reports

Husam filed the defamation suit following media reports that two Kelantan Umno assemblypersons, Nozula Md Diah (Paloh) and Muhd Adhan Kechik (Bukit Bunga), had filed a report with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) in 2007, claiming nine cases of mismanagement, corruption and abuse of power by individuals in the PAS-led government and directly linked to Husam.

Following the ACA report and the news media reports carried by NSTP, Husam filed the RM6 million suit in January 2008, against the two assemblypersons and NSTP.

The two subsequently apologised to Husam in 2009 for the report, and one of them published the notice of apology in Berita Harian .

Nozula said he deeply and unconditionally apologised to Husam Musa over the "false and baseless report".

"Following this, I withdraw all the allegations and express regret that it (the allegations) had resulted in pressuring Husam and his family and may have tarnished his personal character," he said.

Justice Su in ordering the payout of RM350,000 said it was for exemplary, aggravated and general damages.