AFTER seven years of legal wrangling that went as far as the Federal Court, the libel trial brought by the Sarawak government against state DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen has finally begun.

Seven days, beginning today, have been set by the Kuching High Court to hear arguments in the case relating to Chong’s allegation in 2013 that RM11 billion of the state budget had “disappeared into a black hole”.

The case involves the management of the “Government Contribution Towards Approved Agencies Trust Fund” that was set up in 2006.

Chong, the Kota Sentosa assemblyman and Stampin MP, had persistently questioned in the state assembly the whereabouts of the RM11 billion that had been allocated to the fund.

In April of 2013, the state government and state financial authority sued Chong for defamation after his allegation on the alleged misappropriation of funds from the state budget was published in a Chinese national daily and a news portal, as well as in pamphlets distributed by Chong and DAP at a press conference on January 2, 2013.

The state government sued as the allegation had cast aspersions that the RM11 billion from the state budget had gone to the pockets of government cronies, including companies linked to some state leaders.

In the legal side show on the question of law that ensued, Chong had argued governments in Malaysia could not sue citizens for defamation based on the common law Derbyshire principle that public authorities cannot bring an action against a person for lowering their reputation.

In April 2014, the Kuching High Court agreed with Chong and held that the state government could not under common law sue him for defamation, even though his words against the government were defamatory.

The court also struck out the government’s suit.

The state government appealed and in a majority ruling on April 7, 2016, the Court of Appeal set aside the high court’s decision, ruling that the government has the right to sue for defamation under the Government Proceedings Act 1956.

Chong then appealed the decision to the Federal Court.

However, in February last year, the five-man bench of the apex court unanimously dismissed Chong’s review application to set aside the earlier decision and rehear the matter.

The apex court ruled a legal principle established by the Federal Court two years ago that federal and state governments can sue individuals for defamation.

On September 26, 2018, the Federal Court, then chaired by now-retired judge Ahmad Maarop, ruled governments in Malaysia could sue citizens for defamation

Maarop said in Malaysia, the right of the federal and state governments was provided for under Section 3 of the Government Proceedings Act 1956.

The case was then ordered sent back to the high court for trial.

In December last year, Chong also failed to ask the court to order the state government to produce documents he needed for the trial.

He wanted the state government to produce all documents regarding US-dollar borrowings by Sarawak Capital Assets, SGOS Capital Holdings, Sarawak Technology Holding, Delegateam and Aquasar through syndicated loan notes or issuance of bonds under the Sukuk Murabahah programme.

Judicial Commissioner Alexander Siew dismissed the application, saying he agreed with the state government’s counsel, who said the documents, even if they existed, were irrelevant to the case and need not be produced at the trial.

Chong had also applied to have the minutes of meetings for the companies, which are all wholly owned by State Financial Secretary Incorporated, and all documents relating to payments made by these companies to third parties entered into evidence.

In the case management hearing on December 18, Sarawak government legal officer Mohd Adzrul Adzlan objected to the application on grounds that the documents were irrelevant.

He said Chong had not proven that the documents exist.

Chong had earlier argued he was made aware of such documents from the environmental group Global Witness.

Adzrul said, in that case, Chong was going on a fishing expedition “in an attempt to find documents which are not related to supporting his defence”.

The state opposition chief will act as his own counsel but his father Chong Siew Chiang will be his lead counsel in a father and son legal team. – January 7, 2021.