THE Court of Appeal today ordered Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to pay an increased sum of damages of RM120,000 to former Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar for defamation.

This was after a three-member bench comprising Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, Mariana Yahya and Wong Kian Kheong allowed Mahfuz’s cross-appeal for the quantum of damages to be increased from RM50,000 to RM120,000.

Meanwhile, the bench dismissed Sanusi’s appeal to set aside a High Court ruling, made on November 8, 2021, which ordered him to pay damages to Mahfuz after allowing the latter’s defamation lawsuit.

In the court’s decision, Justice Vazeer said there was no error by the High Court judge in his findings on liability, but said the quantum of damages awarded to Mahfuz by the High Court was low.

He also ordered Sanusi to pay RM10,000 in legal costs. 

Sanusi’s lawyer, Yusfarizal Yussoff as well as Mahfuz’s lawyer Noorazmir Zakaria, confirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision.

The decision was delivered during online proceedings today.

Yusfarizal said he would discuss with his client whether to file leave to appeal to the Federal Court.

In November 2021, High Court judicial commissioner Mohd Arief Emran Arifin allowed Mahfuz’s defamation suit and ordered Sanusi to pay RM50,000 in damages to Mahfuz.

The judicial commissioner also granted an injunction to restrain Sanusi or his agents from further publishing defamatory words against Mahfuz.

Mahfuz filed the suit on October 9, 2019, over a post made by Sanusi on his Facebook account on July 30 the same year, linking Mahfuz as the then Pokok Sena MP to the transfer of a Sports Toto outlet in the area.

Mahfuz also claimed Sanusi posted a eight-minute video on his Facebook account on July 27, 2019, which showed a group of individuals protesting the opening of a Sports Toto outlet in Pokok Sena, while holding a banner bearing the former’s name. – Bernama, April 3, 2023.