Ex-IGP no-show for hearing, Yeoh defamation trial adjourned

Due to his accidentally overlooked court schedule (tersilap pandang tarikh bicara), ex-top cop Musa Hassan did not show up for today’s hearing of a defamation suit by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.

The former inspector-general of police’s legal team was also not present during the Kuala Lumpur High Court proceedings.

Judicial commissioner Arziah Mohamed Apandi then postponed to Aug 9 the hearing of the suit over an allegation linking Yeoh to an attempt to Christianise Malaysia.

Outside the court, Yeoh’s counsel Razlan Hadri said they attempted unsuccessfully to contact the law firm acting for Musa.

When contacted, Musa’s lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz confirmed they overlooked the scheduled hearing date.

“We will write to the court and plaintiff (Yeoh’s legal team) to explain the mistake (kesilapan),” the counsel said.

Musa was set for further cross-examination by Yeoh’s legal team in the hearing. The minister was seen sitting in the public gallery.

Yeoh filed the defamation suit on July 3, 2020, following Musa’s speech at a forum at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) on Jan 30 that year.

The forum titled “Wacana Isu Semasa Perjanjian Damai Hat Yai 1989: PKM Menyerah Diri?” (The Hat Yai Peace Accords: Did the Communist Party of Malaya surrender?) was organised by UiTM’s Institute of Malay Rulers.

In his speech, Musa was alleged to have suggested that DAP had published a book on the purported role of the Malays behind the May 13 riots, among others.

According to a copy of the suit’s statement of claim, Yeoh claimed, among others, that the speech contained defamatory statements that were wholly untrue, disparaging, vexatious, spurious, fallacious, and without basis.

Musa is relying on the defence of justification, namely the willingness to prove the truthfulness of the alleged defamatory statements in court.

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