KUALA LUMPUR: The defamation suit filed by Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof against Harakah over articles involving cosmetic entrepreneur Muhammad Sajjad Kamaruzzaman, or better known as Sajat, was today settled through mediation.
“The court today recorded a consent judgement from both parties for the case to be settled,” Mujahid’s lawyer Noorazmir Zakaria told Bernama when contacted after the virtual proceedings before Sessions Court Judge Zulqarnain Hassan today.
He said among the settlements for the case is the first defendant (Harakah reporter Aziz Muda) will publish an apology to Mujahid on Harakah and retract the articles titled ‘Sajat: Mujahid dan K’jaan PH patut dipersalahkan’ and ‘Keterlanjuran Sajat kesilapan Mujahid dan kerajaan PH’.
However, Noorazmir said other settlement terms included in the consent judgement could not be revealed.
The hearing for the case was set for Aug 30, however, before proceedings began, the court proposed for the case to be settled amicably through mediation.
The former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department filed the suit on Aug 12 last year, naming Aziz, Harakah editor-in-chief Wan Nordin Wan Yaacob, its online portal harakahdaily.net operator Galeri Media Serbanika Sdn Bhd and the newspaper’s printer, Percetakan Turbo (M) Sdn Bhd, as the defendants.
In his statement of claim, Mujahid claimed that, on Feb 7 last year, Aziz, Wan Nordin and Galeri Media had written and published defamatory words against him on harakahdaily.net via an article titled ‘Sajat: Mujahid dan K’jaan PH patut dipersalahkan’ and another one titled ‘Keterlanjuran Sajat kesilapan Mujahid dan kerajaan PH’ published on Harakah newspaper dated Feb 10 to 13.
The Parit Buntar MP said the defamatory words implied that he was an irresponsible man for allowing the public, especially Muslims, to engage in Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transexual (LGBT) activities and that he was the main reason for Sajat to wear telekung (Muslim women’s prayer garb) and behave like a woman while performing umrah.
Mujahid claimed that the defamatory words had tarnished his dignity, credibility and reputation as the minister in charge of religious affairs at the material time.
Meanwhile, in their statement of defence filed on Sept 28, last year, the defendants said Mujahid should be man enough to be responsible for the statement he made and should not be offended by the criticisms hurled at him, especially by media practitioners, over the issue. — Bernama
