Mohamed Azmi J:

[1] This is a claim for damages for libel contained in Utusan Melayu newspaper, of which the first defendants are the proprietors, printers and publishers, and the second defendant is the editor. It is admitted in the pleadings that the plaintiff is and was at all material times a lecturer of the University of Malaya, and that Utusan Melayu is an influential Malay daily newspaper having a wide circulation throughout the country. The plaintiff complains that the defendants had published a certain news report in the Utusan Melayu of 1 January 1965, which contained defamatory imputations against him.

[2] The events leading to the publication of the news report appear to be as follows. Some time in December 1964, the plaintiff was invited to address a meeting of the Johore Muslim Association in Muar. According to the plaintiff's testimony, he was asked to speak on a subject entitled "Backwardness of Malays in economic and educational fields". It is not seriously in dispute that at that time the country was in a state of armed conflict with Indonesia which is popularly known as confrontation period. The plaintiff's speech was published the following day in Utusan Melayu, although according to the plaintiff it was not accurately reported, and it gave only a brief summary of part of his speech. From paras 1 to 5, p 7 of the agreed bundle of documents, it is clear that the plaintiff's speech was published in Utusan Melayu on 22 December 1964, and that when the Johore Menteri Besar, Datuk Haji Hasan bin Yunus, now deceased, made a speech marking the opening of a surau in Muar on 31 December 1964, he was referring to the plaintiff's speech as published in Utusan Melayu on 22 December. On 1 January 1965, Utusan Melayu published the remarks of the Menteri Besar, which are the subject matters of the present action, together with the photograph of the plaintiff and the Menteri Besar. It is therefore apparent that the words complained of are contained in a news report of the speech given by the Johore Menteri Besar during the opening ceremony of a new surau in Muar. The full text of the news report in Jawi can be found in Exh P1. The same document together with its Romanized and English translations also appear in the agreed bundle of documents. At the outset of the hearing, Counsel for both parties informed me that the correctness of these translation have been admitted. It should be noted that for ease of reference, the news report has been put in numbered paragraphs both in the statement of claim and the agreed bundle of documents. The heading and the relevant parts of the news report which contained the alleged defamatory imputations appear in paras 3 and 4 of the statement of claim. Paragraph 4 which contains the literal English translation is now reproduced:

"Protecting the people's minds and hearts from subversive ideas more important... UNGRATEFUL? Menteri Besar accuses Lecturer holds similar views as Sukarno."

"1. Dato Haji Hasan Yunus, the Menteri Besar of Johore considers Syed Husin Ali as having the same views as Sukarno in wanting to arouse the hatred of the Malaysian people against the Government and the British."

"2. The Menteri Besar also accuses the University Lecturer of spreading subversive ideas in order to poison the thoughts and feeling of the public, especially the Malays in this country."

"6. He said, Syed Husin has committed an act of subversion by his talk to the Muslim students in Johore."

"8. Touching on Syed Husin's views that the British took away $81 million from this country in 1961, Dato Hasan said that this view is very similar to the claims made by Sukarno to the whole world that Malaysia is still colonised and controlled by the British."

"12. He then accused Syed Husin of trying to arouse the feelings of hatred against the British among the people in this country."

"13. His intention - so that the people will act against the British bases in the country. 'And this is the very thing that Suka