Bar govts, firms from suing individuals for defamation, ex-judge says

Summary

• A former federal judge suggests that the Defamation Act be amended to disallow governments and corporations from suing individuals for defamation.

• Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal says defamation law is about an individual’s honour and good name.

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A retired Federal Court judge today suggested the Bar Council push for an amendment to the Defamation Act to disallow governments and corporations from filing defamation suits.

Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal told a forum in Kuala Lumpur that the defamation law should be restricted to individuals as reputation was initially about honour and good name, among others.

Citing the history behind defamation law, he said ordinary people used to go jostling where they would fight to the death to restore their honour.

"That was how the defamation law developed. It was only in 1894 that somehow corporations crept in and started claiming their reputation had been defamed.

"Now I have a problem with that because reputation initially is about characteristics of honour, dignity, integrity, good name, and so on.

"So, I would suggest corporations should be left out, only individuals," he said.

Harmindar was among the five speakers at a forum held by the Bar Council's Civil Law and Law Reform Committee earlier today, titled “Defamation law reform: Revisiting the Defamation Act 1957”.

The event was organised to discuss a reform proposal being developed by the committee in regard to the law, which has not been amended since its inception over six decades ago.

‘Unusual Sarawak govt case’

Adding further, Harmindar said governments should also not be allowed to sue people for defamation.

Citing an "unusual" case where the Sarawak state government was allowed to sue an individual for defamation, the former judge said he "could not fathom how a government can have a governing reputation" and use taxpayers' money to sue its own citizens to stifle their criticism.

"It just doesn't make sense to me. That's the law at the moment. That could be taken into account by the committee (to put in your proposal)," he said.

It was understood that Harmindar was referring to a landmark decision by the Federal Court in 2018, where it ruled that governments at federal and state levels can sue individuals for defamation.

The ruling was made when it affirmed a Court of Appeal decision in a civil suit brought by the Sarawak state government against former Kuching MP Chong Chien Jen.

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