The Court of Appeal today unanimously dismissed an appeal over a defamation suit filed by Umno Youth vice-chief Khairul Azwan Harun against PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli. 

Justice Hamid Sultan Abu Backer passed the decision after the three-member bench found no merit in Khairul Azwan's appeal against Rafizi's claim of possible abuse in Mara's purchase of a property in Australia.

"The appeal is dismissed with costs," he said, allowing costs of RM10,000 to be paid to Rafizi. 

The other judges on the bench were Justice Hasnah Mohamed Hashim and Justice Harminder Singh Dhaliwal.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had on Oct 20 last year dismissed Khairul Azwan's defamation suit and ordered the youth leader, better known as Azwan Bro, to pay RM73,000 in costs. This included RM23,000 which Rafizi had spent to get documents from Australia to prove his allegation. 

Justice S Nantha Balan, in making the ruling, said there was no malice on Rafizi's part when making his claims on Khairul Azwan, as they were based on the Pandan MP's own study and research, which included court proceedings in Australia.

"The matter warrants an investigation and to be looked into as it is of public interest," he had said. 

The judge further called for a thorough investigation on what Rafizi had claimed.

“Of course only a thorough investigation if carried out without fear or favour will, or should, at any rate, reveal the identities of the insufferable miscreants behind the property transaction.

"There is to my mind enough evidence to demonstrate that there is a prima facie case for an investigation to be carried out to determine the identities of those involved in the property transactions," he added.

Justice Nantha also ruled that Rafizi was not reckless in his press release after having done his own investigation.

Rafizi was represented by William Leong while lawyer M Reza Hassan appeared for Khairul Azwan.

In his suit, Khairul Azwan, who is also Biosis Group Berhad director and a senator, said Rafizi's statements, among others, had questioned his alleged involvement in the purchase and business dealings at the 746 Swanston Street property by a company wholly owned by Mara Inc, Thrushcross Land Holdings Limited, which experienced leakages of RM63 million.

He said the alleged defamatory statements could be shared by internet users worldwide and this had tarnished his reputation as a businessperson and politician.

Khairul Azwan further claimed that it had also resulted in him being despised by the public for allegedly being involved in the dubious transactions.

Rafizi had alleged that one of the directors of Biosis Group also served on the board of the company that held the Australian property.

Commenting on today's decision, Leong said it showed that those involved in the said transactions with Mara are connected to Umno Youth.

He said Biosis Group was a company classified as PN17 sometime in 2013.

PN17, Leong explained, is a company in financial distress and on restructuring exercise, with the possibility of its shares losing by 90 percent.

Two years ago, Rafizi claimed that Mara was "scammed" of A$18.3 million (RM62.9 million) when its investment arm Mara Inc purchased the student flats at 746, Swanston Street in Melbourne.