00:00The Kuala Lumpur High Court has dismissed Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh's lawsuit
00:06accusing former Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan of defaming her by saying she
00:10had tried to turn Malaysia into a Christian nation.
00:14The court ruled that Yeoh had failed to prove her claim on a balance of probabilities and
00:19awarded Musa costs of RM40,000.
00:22Judicial Commissioner Arzea Apandi said Musa's speech at a UITM forum in 2020 did not specifically
00:29refer to Yeoh and that many of his remarks referred to other people.
00:34The court said there was no evidence of widespread dissemination, noting that the forum, broadcast
00:39on Facebook Live, had an engagement rate of less than 1%.
00:43The court said while responsible speech is important, public figures must expect and
00:48tolerate robust criticism and debate about their public statements and activities.
00:53Yeoh sued Musa in 2020 over his allegation that she had written a book to turn Malaysia
00:58into a Christian nation.
01:00Yeoh previously published an autobiography titled Becoming Hannah, A Personal Journey,
01:05describing her journey as a Malaysian woman whose life was transformed through her Christian
01:09faith, which later led her into politics.
01:12Natasha Biest, FMT News.
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