THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today allowed an application by Prof Mahamad Naser Disa, the former chief executive officer of Institut Kajian Strategik Islam Malaysia (Iksim), to postpone paying RM80,000 in damages to Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad, who won a defamation suit against the academic on July 17.

Judicial Commissioner Rohani Ismail made the decision today in chambers, with lawyers Mohd Faizal Abdullah and Effa Azwin Idrul Hisham, appearing for Khalid and Mahamad Naser respectively, according to information received by Bernama from a court source.  

On July 29, Mahamad Naser had filed the application for the postponement of the payment, On July 17, Rohani had ruled in favour of Khalid, ordering Mahamad Naser, the sole defendant, to pay Khalid RM80,000 in damages as a result of the defamation suit filed by Khalid in connection with the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Bill 2016 (also known as the RUU 355).

The judicial commissioner had made the ruling after finding that there was no evidence indicating that Khalid had issued a statement opposing the RUU 355 as alleged by Mahamad Naser. 

In December 2017, Khalid had instituted a suit for defamation against Mahamad Naser, claiming that during a talk on September 28, 2017, at the Masjid Tengku Ampuan Jemaah in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, the latter had made statements alleging, among others, that Khalid had strongly opposed the RUU 355, opposed the implementation of Islamic law and opposed efforts to empower the Syariah Court.

In his capacity as plaintiff, Khalid had alleged that the statements were made with malicious intent, damaging his reputation as Shah Alam MP. – Bernama, August 29, 2019.