Utusan lovin' it: Just defame, get sued and pay for it

Just two days ago:

Court orders Utusan pay Khalid RM60,000 in defamation damages

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

October 14, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — The High Court today ordered that Utusan Malaysia pay RM60,000 in damages to PAS lawmaker Khalid Samad over a defamatory article published two years ago.
The Shah Alam MP (picture) had on September 30 won the case, after suing the publishers of the Umno-owned daily last year over the article “Zulkifli bidas Pak Janggut (Zulkifli blasts the Bearded Man)”.
The article was published in September 2009.
Commercial High Court judge Dr Prasad Sandosham Abraham ordered Utusan and the group’s editor-in-chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak pay Khalid the amount in damages for publishing the article without first verifying the veracity of its contents.


Aziz Bari to sue Utusan for defamation

UIAM law professor Abdul Aziz will sue Umno-owned Malay language daily Utusan Malaysia for defamation over its reports on the academic’s remarks about the rulers and religious issues.

The constitutional law expert told Malaysiakini today, "The main reason is that Utusan has twisted and turned my statements. They portray me as insolent, disrespectful and stubborn."

Abdul Aziz’s move comes after Umno, Utusan and NGOs levelled attacks against him in the press with Utusan campaigning against the academic for purportedly going against the institution of Malay rulers following his comments that questioned the sultan’s intervention in favour of Jais’ for acting despite the lack of evidence for alleged proselytisation on the recent statement by the Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah over the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais)-Harapan Komuniti controversy.

On Aug 3, Jais enforcement officials conducted an inspection of dinner held by Harapan Komuniti - a social welfare NGO - after allegations that the group was involved in the proselytisation of Muslims.

Subsequently, twelve Muslims were investigated over their presence at the dinner.