THE Federal Court today reserved its judgment for a date yet to be fixed on whether Malaysiakini and its editor-in-chief, Steven Gan, are deemed to have undermined the judiciary by publishing readers’ comments the government said were contemptuous.

After a contempt hearing today, a seven-judge panel, led by Court of Appeal president Rohana Yusuf, will rule whether government lawyers have established that the news portal and Gan had violated Section 114A of the Evidence Act.

If found guilty, the news portal and Gan could be fined. The 58-year-old editor could also go to jail.

“Basically, we have to wait for the decision. They haven’t set a decision for that yet. We’ll see,” Gan told reporters outside the courtroom, adding that he could not comment further as per court order.

Present at the court today were Malaysiakini CEO Premesh Chandran and several Malaysiakini staff members.

Attorney-General Idrus Harun initiated the contempt proceedings against the portal and Gan. The attorney-general, who is simultaneously the public prosecutor, answers to the prime minister.

The comments in response to an article on June 9 are deemed to have undermined the judiciary.

In court papers filed on June 15, Idrus said five readers criticised Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s directive to the courts to reopen on July 1, following the easing of movement restrictions.

The comments, which implied and alleged corruption in the judiciary, were previously read out in court, as were the user names.

Also on today’s panel were Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and Federal Court judges Abdul Rahman Sebli, Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Nallini Pathmanathan and Mohd Zawawi Salleh.

Senior federal counsel S. Narkunavathy led the prosecution while Malik Imtiaz Sarwar represented Malaysiakini and Gan. – July 13, 2020.