Sunday, February 11, 2024

Has the Sultanah Of Terengganu created a fissure in the shield that protects Malaysia's royals from being charged for crimes or sued in their personal capacity?

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

KDYMM Sultan Terengganu dan KDYMM Sultanah

DYMM Sultan Terengganu dan KDYMM Sultanah


The Committee For The Protection Of Journalists and others have reported: 

The Kuala Terengganu Magistrates’ Court ruled in a one-day hearing on Wednesday that Rewcastle Brown criminally defamed Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah, a Malaysian royal, in her book “The Sarawak Report—The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose.” The ruling was made under Section 500 of the Penal Code, the reports said.

It has been previously reported that the Malaysian royal concerned, the Sultanah Of  Terengganu , caused the matter above to be initiated by lodging , or by causing to be lodged, a police report in her home state.


The above raises an interesting question about the  shield that protects royalty from being charged for crimes or sued in their personal capacity. In Malaysia , the rulers, and arguably their consorts, can only be tried in criminal and civil matters before the Special Court,and then only with the approval of the Attorney General.


Given the Special Court provisions, it would seem unfair if not incongruent that rulers and their consorts  could, on the other hand lodge police reports against anyone without undergoing a similar process. Complainants could for example  be required to appear as witnesses , but given the Special Court provisions  the rulers and their consorts  may well be exempt from being called to provide evidence. The Sultanah in the case above did not appear in court to provide any evidence, and Rewcastle-Brown does appear to have been convicted on the basis of mere hearsay, if not, without any evidence. Defamation, including criminal defamation, is personal to the complainant, so it is difficult to see how the Malaysian court determined the  matter without evidence from the complainant, the Sultanah. 


Has the The Sultanah created a fissure in the shield that protects Her Highness and other royals  so that the Special Court shield provided rulers and their consorts may be ignored when the royal is the complainant, in matters that are brought before the criminal courts, and even civil courts? 

The matter is not trivial for as witnesses royals can be subject to cross-examination under oath , and court processes like discovery.


Complicating matters further in this case is the fact that Sultan Of Terenggannu himself is mentioned in the book, but has not made any sort of complaint. 



TO BE READ WITH 

Monday, October 1, 2018

Sultanah Terengganu may consider herself to be defamed,but what of the Sultan & his sister ,neither of whom have denied their association with Jho Low?


by Ganesh Sahathevan






So, the Sultanah Terengganu is of the opinion that her sister- in - law and husband have  “close ties with persons of “questionable character”?

From Her Royal Highness’s learned lawyers:

According to Haaziq, the sultanah came across the passage when reading the book, became extremely distressed and upset, and immediately instructed the palace to lodge a police report.

He added that the royal comptroller carried out the instruction on Sept 14.

The lawyer claimed that the passage implies that the sultanah is involved in corrupt practices, has close ties with persons of “questionable character,” and has influence over the state’s administration.

Though pointing out that the other allegations in the book, especially those relating to 1MDB, are of no concern to him, he stressed that the sultanah has never interfered in government affairs and was never involved in TIA’s establishment.


However,there is this from The Star,which has been in the public domain unchallenged,for quite some time:

However, (Jho Low's)  rise to fame came when he was made special adviser to the Sultan of Terengganu and the-then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, who was also at that point of time the chairman of the now-defunct Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA). The aim of TIA was to manage the state’s annual oil royalty from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).

As well as this:

A: His Majesty’s sister Tunku Datuk Rahimah introduced us. She is the chairman of Loh & Loh Corporation Bhd, whom I met as a fellow shareholder of Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia Investment Corporation (ADKMIC).

END

References



Withdraw S'wak Report book or face RM100m suit, say T’ganu sultanah's lawyers

Koh Jun Lin


Published: 29 Sep 2018, 1:50 pm  |  Modified: 29 Sep 2018, 5:05 pm









   

Lawyers representing Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah have demanded that the publisher and printer of The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Exposé withdraw the book from further sale and circulation.

Mohd Haaziq Pillay Abdullah said a letter of demand to that effect had been served to publisher Gerakbudaya Enterprise and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd on Sept 27, as well as the book’s author Clare Rewcastle-Brown.

They have eight days from the date of service to comply, Haaziq said, or they would each face a suit demanding RM100 million in damages.

The sultanah’s lawyer said the proceeds of any damages awarded by the court would be donated to charity.

“The sultanah does not want the money, but wants to preserve the reputation of the Terengganu royal household and her position as her royal highness the sultanah,” he told a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

Haaziq was accompanied by members of his legal team, as well as the royal comptroller of the Terengganu Palace, Mohd Azmi Mohamad Daham.

The lawyer also requested that Rewcastle-Brown, Gerakbudaya, and Vinlin issue a full, written, and unequivocal retraction and apology for the allegedly defamatory statement contained in the book within the eight-day period, as well as undertaking not to repeat the statement.




He added that the statement supposedly defamatory to the sultanah is on page 3 of the book, which is part of the book’s prologue.

It reads: "Jho was also friendly with a key player in Terengganu, the wife of the sultan, whose acquiescence was needed to set up the fund and he later cited her support as having been crucial to his obtaining the advisory position.”

The passage refers to the controversial financier Low Taek Jho and the setting up of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), which later became 1MDB when the federal government took over the sovereign wealth fund.

According to Haaziq, the sultanah came across the passage when reading the book, became extremely distressed and upset, and immediately instructed the palace to lodge a police report.

He added that the royal comptroller carried out the instruction on Sept 14.

The lawyer claimed that the passage implies that the sultanah is involved in corrupt practices, has close ties with persons of “questionable character,” and has influence over the state’s administration.

Though pointing out that the other allegations in the book, especially those relating to 1MDB, are of no concern to him, he stressed that the sultanah has never interfered in government affairs and was never involved in TIA’s establishment.

In addition, she never knew Low, nor supported him in obtaining his advisory position in TIA.

“Rewcastle-Brown’s statements are unjustified, baseless, and have aspects of insult,” he said.


'Qualified apology'

As for Rewcastle-Brown’s apology published on her blog on Thursday, Haaziq (photo) said it was a qualified apology rather than the unequivocal apology that the sultanah demands.




“In our view, it is not an apology. It cannot be an apology.

"It is simple: The arrow as left the bow. This is not the terms of our demand, and I wish to state that this so-called ‘apology’ only came about after we initiated the demand, and it is not an unequivocal apology.

“If you look at it, it is a bit qualified – that if you feel hurt, if you misinterpreted it, I’m sorry. That’s not the way defamation law works,” he said.

Rewcastle-Brown’s statement on Thursday reads: “With regard to the complaint by the sultana(h) of Terengganu, Sarawak Report is happy to clarify that the passage in the book The Sarawak Report does not in any way suggest that the sultanah was 'in a conspiracy' with Low nor 'involved in government administration in the 1MDB affair’ or that the sultanah was in any way personally connected with TIA (of which her husband was chairperson of the advisory board), let alone 1MDB.

"...We suspect this matter has been deliberately misinterpreted to the sultanah by people seeking to cause trouble, and assure her that a careful reading of the short passage should make it clear there is no allegation made against anyone in the Terengganu royal family regarding the 1MDB affair, which took place after any involvement by the state ceased in that fund.

"We are sorry if she has been upset by any misinterpretations of our meaning and trust this clarifies the matter."

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