Judgment reserved in Saifuddin Nasution’s appeal over RM600,000 awarded to Sanusi

The Court of Appeal reserved its decision on Saifuddin Nasution's appeal against a defamation ruling ordering him to pay RM600,000 to Muhammad Sanusi.

The case involves allegations concerning statements about rare earth elements and misuse of funds from the MARRIS system.

Saifuddin's appeal argues against the High Court's ruling, while Sanusi maintains the judgment should be upheld in its entirety.

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 14 — The Court of Appeal today reserved its judgment in Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s appeal against the Alor Setar High Court decision ordering him to pay RM600,000 in damages to Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor for defamation.

The defamation case concerns statements regarding rare earth elements (REE) and misappropriated funds allocated under the Malaysian Road Records Information System (MARRIS).

A three-member bench led by Judge Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli deferred its decision after hearing submissions from Saifuddin Nasution’s counsel Razlan Hadri Zulkifli and counsel Yusfarizal Yussoff, who represented Muhammad Sanusi.

“We have fixed Oct 16 for case management to set a date to deliver the decision,” said Justice Azhahari Kamal, who sat with Justices Datuk Ong Chee Kwan and Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Harun.

On Aug 24, 2025, the Alor Setar High Court allowed Muhammad Sanusi’s suit against Saifuddin Nasution after finding the latter liable for defamation.

The court awarded Muhammad Sanusi RM600,000 in global damages, comprising general, aggravated and exemplary damages, plus RM70,000 in costs.

Earlier, Razlan Hadri submitted that if the court found that either statement did not convey the actionable meaning on which the High Court had imposed liability, Muhammad Sanusi’s claim in respect of that statement should be dismissed.

“If a narrower defamatory meaning survives, justification and fair comment fall to be determined against that narrower meaning and the factual substratum established in the evidence,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yusfarizal contended that the finding was consistent with Muhammad Sanusi’s own submissions at the High Court, where it was argued that political success was not a measure of reputational harm in a defamation action.

“The High Court judge had expressly and unreservedly accepted that submission. The appellant’s (Saifuddin Nasution) submission on appeal, if accepted, would mean that no successful politician could ever recover for defamation, which is not and has never been the law.

“I respectfully submit that the appeal ought to be dismissed with costs, and the High Court’s decision, including the awards of damages and the ancillary relief granted, ought to be affirmed in its entirety,” he said.

On Aug 3, 2023, Muhammad Sanusi filed a lawsuit against Saifuddin Nasution, alleging that the defendant had spoken to the press after an official event in Penang on July 14 the same year.

He claimed Saifuddin Nasution made the MARRIS statement at that press conference, alleging in substance that the plaintiff had used funds allocated under the system, statutorily earmarked for road maintenance, for development purposes.

Muhammad Sanusi, who is the Jeneri MP, said Saifuddin Nasution made the statement during an election rally on July 15, 2023, at Padang Awam, Guar Chempedak, Yan, alleging that he had stolen REE. — Bernama

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上诉法院保留了对赛夫丁·纳苏蒂安 (Saifuddin Nasution) 上诉的裁决，该上诉针对的是诽谤罪判决，该判决命令他向穆罕默德·萨努西 (Muhammad Sanusi) 支付 60 万令吉。

该案件涉及有关稀土元素声明和滥用 MARRIS 系统资金的指控。

赛夫丁的上诉反对高等法院的裁决，而萨努西则坚持认为判决应完全维持。

布城10月14日 — 上诉法庭今日保留内政部长拿督斯里赛夫丁纳苏蒂安依斯迈针对亚罗士打高庭裁决上诉的判决，该裁决命令他向吉打州大臣拿督斯里莫哈末沙努西诽谤赔偿60万令吉。

这起诽谤案涉及有关稀土元素 (REE) 和马来西亚道路记录信息系统 (MARRIS) 下分配的挪用资金的声明。

由法官 Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli 领导的三人法庭在听取了 Saifuddin Nasution 的律师 Razlan Hadri Zulkifli 和代表 Muhammad Sanusi 的律师 Yusfarizal Yussoff 的意见后推迟了决定。

“我们已将 10 月 16 日定为案件管理日，以确定宣判日期，”与拿督翁志宽和拿督斯里莫哈末·拉兹·哈伦法官一同审理此案的阿扎哈里·卡迈勒法官说道。

2025年8月24日，亚罗士打高等法院裁定穆罕默德·萨努西对赛夫丁·纳苏蒂安提起诽谤诉讼，并允许其胜诉。

法院判给穆罕默德·萨努西 60 万令吉的全球赔偿金，其中包括一般赔偿金、加重赔偿金和惩罚性赔偿金，外加 7 万令吉的诉讼费用。

此前，拉兹兰·哈德里提出，如果法院认定任何一项声明都没有传达高等法院据以认定其应承担责任的可诉含义，则穆罕默德·萨努西就该声明提出的索赔应被驳回。

他说：“如果诽谤的狭义含义得以保留，那么正当性和合理评论就应该根据这种狭义含义和证据中确立的事实基础来判断。”

与此同时，尤斯法里扎尔辩称，这一结果与穆罕默德·萨努西在高等法院的陈述一致，萨努西在高等法院辩称，政治上的成功并非诽谤诉讼中名誉损害的衡量标准。

“高等法院法官已明确且毫无保留地接受了这一论点。如果上诉人（赛义夫丁·纳苏蒂安）的上诉理由被采纳，那就意味着任何成功的政治家都无法就诽谤获得赔偿，而这并非法律规定，也从未是法律规定。”

“我谨建议驳回上诉并由上诉人承担诉讼费用，高等法院的判决，包括损害赔偿金和所授予的附属救济，应予以全部维持，”他说。

2023 年 8 月 3 日，穆罕默德·萨努西对赛夫丁·纳苏蒂安提起诉讼，指控被告于同年 7 月 14 日在槟城参加官方活动后接受了媒体采访。

他声称赛义夫丁·纳苏蒂安在那次新闻发布会上发表了 MARRIS 声明，实质上指控原告将根据该系统分配的、依法指定用于道路维护的资金用于发展目的。

杰内里议员穆罕默德·沙努西 (Muhammad Sanusi) 表示，赛义夫丁·纳苏蒂安 (Saifuddin Nasution) 于 2023 年 7 月 15 日在巴东阿瓦姆 (Padang Awam)、瓜尔切姆佩达 (Guar Chempedak)、延 (Yan) 举行的选举集会上发表声明，指控他盗窃了 REE。 — 马新社

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