MELAKA: The High Court here found that Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh’s remarks against DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok over a proposed halal certification policy went beyond legitimate political debate and carried a serious defamatory implication.
According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Judicial Commissioner Isa Aziz Ibrahim said the video portrayed Kok as habitually and continually undermining national harmony.
In his grounds of judgment dated Oct 19, Isa said Akmal’s remarks included personal attacks against Kok that exceeded legitimate criticism of her position on public policy.
The case arose from a video Akmal posted on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram in September 2024 after Kok questioned a proposal to make halal certification compulsory for restaurants and food businesses that did not serve pork or alcohol.
Kok had expressed concern that the proposal could burden businesses, particularly smaller operators.
Akmal responded by calling her an “old nyonya”, telling her to keep quiet and suggesting that a “non-halal” label be placed on her forehead.
FMT reported that the court rejected Akmal’s defence of fair comment, finding no factual basis for his allegation that Kok repeatedly disrupted national harmony.
Isa said a defendant could not invent or extrapolate unproven facts and then comment on them.
The court also rejected Akmal’s defence of qualified privilege, taking into account the wide dissemination of his remarks and the personal attacks against Kok.
Isa noted that Akmal admitted recording the video in anger without seeking clarification, and that his primary motive was to attack Kok personally.
The court also considered Akmal’s decision to keep the video online without apologising or retracting his remarks.
Isa rejected the argument that Kok had provoked the dispute through her Facebook post.
According to the grounds of judgment cited by FMT, an imperfect translation or unfortunate choice of words by an elected representative did not give a political opponent licence to launch an unsupported character assassination.
The court awarded Kok RM250,000 in general and aggravated damages and ordered Akmal to pay RM50,000 in costs.
Akmal was also ordered to remove the video from his social media accounts within seven days and barred from republishing the defamatory remarks or words carrying the same meaning.
