Hannah Yeoh wins lawsuit after former inspector-general said she tried to make M'sia a 'Christian country'

Malaysia Federal Territories minister Hannah Yeoh won a lawsuit against former Malaysia police inspector-general Musa Hassan after he was ordered by the Malaysian Court of Appeal to pay her RM250,000 (S$79,447) in damages on Jan. 13.

According to The Star, judge Azimah Omar said that the court had ruled as such after his remarks towards Yeoh at a university forum in 2020.

This follows the judicial commission's wrong dismissal of Yeoh's lawsuit, reported Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

Background

Yeoh had filed the suit in 2020 after Musa claimed that she was intending to turn Malaysia into a "Christian nation".

Musa had told the forum that an unnamed group linked to Yeoh's political party, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) was attempting to undermine Islam in the country.

He also alleged that Yeoh had authored a book to "make this country a Christian country".

In her judgment, Azimah said Musa had implied that Yeoh was "politically" and "religiously aligned" with the group.

She added that his remarks were defamatory and had subjected Yeoh to ridicule within the Muslim community in Malaysia.

Judicial commissioner wrongly accepted Musa's justification

Azimah, who chaired a three-judge panel, also said that the High Court had wrongly accepted Musa's defences of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege in relation to the statements alleged to be defamatory.

It dismissed her suit in December 2024 after finding that she had failed to prove that his statements were defamatory.

Yeoh subsequently appealed against that decision.

Azimah also said that her court found that the lower court had erred in finding that the "low viewership" of Musa's remarks, which were livestreamed on Facebook, meant they did not amount to defamation.

Azimah said: "While the defendant may have held a position of influence, it is unacceptable and unprecedented in law to allow individuals with such power to disseminate untruths recklessly."

The panel also dismissed Musa's argument that he required freedom as inspector-general at the time to speak on "matters of national or religious importance".

Damages awarded to Yeoh

Azimah concluded that it was appropriate to award a global sum in damages of RM250,000 in damages to Yeoh, considering the nature of Musa's remarks and the impact on her reputation.

"The defamatory imputations were serious, public and highly damaging. The defendant's actions demonstrated negligence and disregard for the plaintiff's rights."

The court also awarded her an additional RM60,000 (S$19,000) in her favour.

After the ruling, Yeoh later told reporters that she was "grateful" for the court's decision.

She said: "For six years, I had to live with the lies and defamation on social media that tarnished my name and confused people due to the remarks by a former inspector-general".

Top photos via Hannah Yeoh/Facebook & Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia