Former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan has moved again to strike out a defamation suit filed against him by Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh over his “Christian nation” claim.
Musa’s lawyer, Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz, said they are seeking to strike out Yeoh’s lawsuit, citing abuse of the court process.
“Her first suit against Tan Sri (Musa) was struck out in May. She then filed a fresh suit and, at the same time, filed an appeal against the dismissal of the first suit.
“To us, the act of appealing on the first lawsuit and filing another suit seems like they are ‘blowing hot and cold’,” Khairul Azam said, adding that Musa’s striking-out bid was filed last month.
The High Court had on May 3 struck out Yeoh’s original suit on technical grounds. Judge Rozanna Ali Yusoff, however, allowed her the option to file a fresh suit.
Yeoh filed her second suit the same month.
She is suing Musa over allegations that she tried to turn Malaysia into a Christian nation. She claims the statement was made at a forum at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) on Jan 30, 2020.
In her suit, Yeoh said Musa’s statement was made in bad faith to harm her reputation and expose her to public ridicule.
Musa, who was the nation’s top cop from 2006 to 2010, allegedly told the forum an unnamed group had tried to destroy Islam in the country. He is said to have claimed that he did research and found links between the evangelist group and DAP, of which Yeoh is a member.
Yeoh previously published an autobiography, titled “Becoming Hannah, A Personal Journey”, describing her journey as an ordinary Malaysian woman whose life was transformed through her personal faith as a Christian, which later led her into politics.
It was criticised in May 2017 by a Universiti Utara Malaysia political scientist as an example of DAP hypocrisy about its stated policy of keeping politics and religion separate.
Yeoh is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages from Musa, and an injunction to restrain him and other parties from further publishing the alleged statements.
Musa attempted to nullify Yeoh’s lawsuit last year, but the application was turned down by the court. – FMT