Mining firm can appeal in suit against activist

PUTRAJAYA: After winning two rounds in a defamation suit by the Raub Australian Gold Mining (RAGM), activist Hue Shieh Lee will now face the company in the final round at the Federal Court.

This time, RAGM has won leave to appeal on four questions of law touching on freedom of speech for activists.

Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif granted RAGM leave to appeal against the earlier courts’ findings, ruling there was merit to its application.

The panel that included Chief Judge of Malaya Ahmad Maarop and Justice Balia Yusof Wahi also unanimously allowed the four questions of law to be argued at the appeal stage.

The questions are:

* Whether Hue’s statement was defamatory, when balanced against Malaysia’s present right to freedom of speech;

* What the criteria is for rights to freedom of speech for an activist;

* Whether a person accused of defamation could selectively deny parts of a statement instead of expressly denying the entire publication where her statement was carried; and

* Whether a plea of justified and fair comment voids the defence’s denial against a plaintiff ’s specific claim that they had published defamatory words.

RAGM had filed the suit against Hue, who was then the vicechairperson of Ban Cyanide Action Group, over statements made against the company’s gold mine near her village in Bukit Koman, Pahang.

Hue is a resident of Bukit Koman and the group was formed to look after the health and welfare of residents impacted by a goldprocessing facility operated by RAGM.

The suit involves two articles published in 2013 by Malaysiakini and Free Malaysia Today.

In May 2016, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the suit, ruling that RAGM had failed to prove Hue’s statement against the gold mine was of malicious falsehood.

In October last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment, finding Hue was within her rights as an activist to express her concern for the health of villagers when reading out survey results on health issues at a press conference.

The company was represented by lawyers Tan Sri Cecil Abraham, Sunil Abraham and Daniel Chua, while lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar acted for Hue.