KUALA LUMPUR: Former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng is opposing Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s request to postpone the payment of the judgment debt of RM1.402 million in their defamation case.
Lim that the huge amount of the judgment debt is not a special circumstance for a delay, as Muhyiddin is wealthy and possesses many assets, making him capable of paying.
“This is proven through the asset declaration made to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). The defendant (Muhyiddin) ranked first in the MACC’s Cabinet Asset Declaration list published in July 2020, with a monthly income of RM93,841.65 and a significant asset value declared between RM10 million and RM15 million.
Lim said this in an affidavit filed yesterday in response to Muhyiddin’s application to postpone the payment of the RM1.35 million judgment debt, RM50,000 in costs, and RM2,000 in allocator fee pending his appeal against the decision.
Lim, who is also former Penang Chief Minister, also requested that Muhyiddin’s proposal to deposit 50 percent of the judgment debt be rejected.
Meanwhile, Lim said that Muhyiddin, a former Prime Minister and prominent politician in Malaysia, should set a good example for the entire country by complying with and respecting the court’s decision, which found the defendant guilty of defamation and ordered damages to be paid.
“In this case, he had more than a month to comply with the judgment. However, he only chose to file this application after I gave him a final reminder on Dec 4, 2024.
“Despite being given more than a month since the judgment date, the defendant has shown no effort to comply with the court judgment by depositing the judgment amount to me or paying it to the solicitor’s clients’ account,“ he said.
Muhyiddin filed the application on Dec 9, citing that the RM1.4 million amount is substantial and he needed time to gather the amount but was willing to deposit 50 percent of the amount in a fixed deposit account to be held by Lim’s lawyer as a stakeholder, pending the hearing and disposal of his appeal.
Lim filed a bankruptcy notice against Muhyiddin on the same day (Dec 9) for failing to pay the damages ordered by the court.
Muhyiddin’s application to postpone the payment will be heard on Dec 16 before Judge Roz Mawar Rozain.
On Nov 8, the court ordered Muhyiddin to pay RM1.35 million in damages to Lim for defamation relating to the revocation of tax exemption for Yayasan Albukhary. The court also ordered Muhyiddin to pay RM50,000 in costs to Lim.
On March 27, 2023, Lim filed a lawsuit against Muhyiddin for allegedly making three defamatory statements against him in Facebook posts dated March 9, 11, and 12, 2023.
Lim claimed that the defamatory statements implied he abused his position and power by authorising or directing the Inland Revenue Board to impose taxes and penalties on Yayasan Albukhary, even though the charitable foundation was granted an exemption.
