Malaysian magistrate says being disrespectful of Malaysia's royalty is to be defamatory, words that "could tarnish" a person's reputation are sufficient to make a finding of criminal defamation-Malaysian decision in favour of Sultanah Of Terengganu turns curiouser and curiouser

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

DYMM Sultan Terengganu dan KDYMM Sultanah

The problematic decision  handed down by the Kuala Terengganu Magistrates’ in favour of the Sultanah Of Terengganu has become, to quote Lewis Carroll in Alice In Wonderland, curiouser and curiouser. Malaysia's national paper of the record, the government controlled Newt Straits Times has reported that Magistrate Nik Mohd Tarmizie Nik Mohd Shukri's reasons for decisions include the following statement which implies that  criminal defamation can be founded even when there is a possibility that a phrase "could tarnish" a persons reputation: 

 After considering the testimonies provided by the prosecution witnesses, the court is convinced that the slanderous remarks directed at the Sultanah of Terengganu constitute defamation that could tarnish her reputation and good name.

The NST also reported that the complainant need not be the direct subject of the phrase for the Magistrate also stated:

“The slanderous remarks directly implicated the involvement of the Sultanah of Terengganu with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, who is suspected of being involved in the 1MDB scandal. “This indirectly tarnishes the reputation of the Sultanah of Terengganu in the country’s largest scandal,”

Worryingly, the Magistrate has equated being "disrespectful" with being defamatory for the NST has reported that the Magistrate had found Rewcastle-Brown had been " disrespectful of the country’s royal institution."

The Magistrate maintains this  false finding:

 The specific defamatory content, highlighted on page three, paragraph four, and line seven, was the phrase “the wife of the Sultan,” which was deemed as a deliberate act aimed at tarnishing the reputation of Sultanah Nur Zahirah. Rewcastle-Brown was charged with committing the offence at 8am on Sept 14, 2018, at Lot 60048, Taman Chendering Utama here.

Rewcastle-Brown was never in Terengganu, let alone at the address mentioned. It appears that the false finding is necessary in order to bring the matter within the Terengganu court's jurisdiction. 

REFERENCE 

‘EDITOR’S BOOK DISRESPECTED SULTANAH’
Rahmat Khairulrijal

5 June 2024
New Straits Times



RAHMAT KHAIRULRIJAL rahmat@nst.com.my 

KUALA LUMPUR:

SARAWAK Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown’s defamatory statements about the Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah, in her book about the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, were disrespectful of the country’s royal institution. Terengganu magistrate Nik Mohd Tarmizie Nik Mohd Shukri said Rewcastle-Brown’s action created a negative perception of Sultanah Nur Zahirah and damaged her good name and reputation. He said this in his judgment when sentencing the 65-year-old editor to two years’ imprisonment after finding her guilty of defaming Sultanah Nur Zahirah in her book, The Sarawak Report — The Inside Story of the 1MDB Exposé. “After considering the testimonies provided by the prosecution witnesses, the court is convinced that the slanderous remarks directed at the Sultanah of Terengganu constitute defamation that could tarnish her reputation and good name.

“The slanderous remarks directly implicated the involvement of the Sultanah of Terengganu with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, who is suspected of being involved in the 1MDB scandal. “This indirectly tarnishes the reputation of the Sultanah of Terengganu in the country’s largest scandal,” he said in the judgment dated June 2. He said the royal institution holds a special and highest position in the constitution and was highly regarded by the people. “As the trial was conducted in absentia under Section 425A of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court has no alternative, and thus finds the accused guilty and convicts her under Section 500 of the Penal Code from the date of conviction (Feb 7).” 

He said the defendant’s failure to respect the Malaysian legal system by choosing to waive her right to attend the trial was also taken into consideration by the court in imposing the maximum sentence. According to the charge, Rewcastle-Brown, who has a London address in the United Kingdom, wrote the book which contained allegations against the Sultanah of Terengganu. The specific defamatory content, highlighted on page three, paragraph four, and line seven, was the phrase “the wife of the Sultan,” which was deemed as a deliberate act aimed at tarnishing the reputation of Sultanah Nur Zahirah. Rewcastle-Brown was charged with committing the offence at 8am on Sept 14, 2018, at Lot 60048, Taman Chendering Utama here.

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New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad

Document NSTRAT0020240605ek650000f