KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — The High Court has ordered preacher Mohd Rasyiq Mohd Alwi to pay RM2.5 million in damages to former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin for defamatory remarks about Khairy’s Covid-19 vaccination status. Justice Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan ruled that Rasyiq’s claims were false and had seriously harmed Khairy’s reputation, further criticising the defendant’s attempt to delay proceedings by filing a last-minute application to reopen the case.
The defamation suit, filed by Khairy in January 2022, also named former Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam, who settled the matter amicably last year by agreeing to publicly apologise and pay compensation. The court heard that Rasyiq failed to attend the trial despite being informed, prompting the judge to proceed in his absence and stress the court’s intolerance for tactics meant to obstruct justice.
