Court Orders NST To Publish MACC Apology To Khalid
KUALA LUMPUR: The New Straits Times said that they cannot publish an apology by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to the Selangor Menteri Besar over his defamation suit on the front page as it was against their “brand and editorial positioning”.
However, the High Court has directed NST to publish the apology within two weeks following an application by MACC to vary the consent order which were agreed to by parties to settle the suit.
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s lead counsel S N Nair said yesterday that the court issued a direct order to NSTto publish the apology on the third page of the newspaper by April 29 and added that the court had allowed MACC’s application for a variation on time from the previous four-day period.
Nair said MACC had informed Justice Lau Bee Lan that it was impossible to comply with the order as NST is a private company and not a party to the suit.
As such, Nair said Khalid withdrew his application to cite MACC and the Government for contempt of court for failing to comply with the terms of settlement.
Senior Federal Counsel Mohd Abazafree Mohd Abbas confirmed that the Attorney-General’s Chambers received a letter from NST stating that it could not publish the apology in the front page of the newspaper as it was against their “brand and editorial positioning”.
Khalid had on April 27, 2009 sued former MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, the MACC and the Government for defamation over the statement that he had abused his power as Menteri Besar.
Under the terms of settlement before Justice Lau on March 19, Ahmad Said was to issue a public apology and advertise the apology on the front page of NST and an unspecified page of The Star within four days from the date of consent order. The Star had complied with the order.
In his suit, Khalid claimed that Ahmad Said’s disclosure in a press conference on Feb 20, 2009 that the MACC had evidence to show that Khalid had abused his powers over the maintenance of his personal car and the purchase of 46 cows for a Hari Raya Aidiladha event was libelous.