Roz Mawar Rozain J:

[1] No stranger in the arena of Malaysian politics, the plaintiff served as a Member of Parliament (ADUN) for the Kelemek, Melaka constituency in 1982, having previously been appointed as Chief Minister of Melaka for the first time. In 1986, he was re-elected as ADUN for the Masjid Tanah, Melaka constituency and continued as Chief Minister.

[2] In 1990, he was once again re-elected as ADUN for Masjid Tanah and continued serving as Chief Minister until he resigned from this position in October 1994. In 1993, he was elected as Youth Leader of United Malays Organisation (UMNO) and held this position until October 1994, before being reinstated as Youth Leader of UMNO in September 1996. The Plaintiff also served as Deputy Home Minister of Malaysia between 1981 and 1982. The Plaintiff resigned as a member of UMNO on 29 February 2020. According to him, he is presently an active member of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) and an active politician and businessman.

[3] The 1st Defendant is a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), was the DAP Socialist Youth National Chief, Deputy Youth Leader of Pakatan Harapan, and the State Assemblyman for the constituency of Pasir Pinji Perak. He is currently the Member of Parliament for the Ipoh Timor constituency. He is the author of the article that the plaintiff contends contains defamatory words titled "Khianat jika Rahim terima masuk Bersatu - Pemuda DAP'. This article was published and disseminated by the 2nd Defendant on its Malaysiakini news portal on 16 December 2018. The article is freely accessible through http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/456450 even up to this day of judgment.

[4] The 2nd Defendant is the owner and publisher of the online news portal www.malaysiakini.com. with its registered address at No 8-1, Jalan Prima Setapak 3, off Jalan Genting Kelang, Setapak 53300 Kuala Lumpur. The 3rd Defendant was the editor of www.malaysiakini.com. The 3rd Defendant is the editor-in-chief of the 2nd Defendant.

[5] The 4th to 6th Defendants are also familiar personas in the political realm, and they are being sued respectively in their capacities as office bearers of DAP as provided under s 9(c) of the Societies Act 1966. The 4th Defendant is the National Chairman of DAP, the 5th Defendant its Deputy Chairman and the 6th Defendant the Secretary General. An article titled "Permohonan Rahim sekiranya diterima akan ditafsir sebagai pengkhianatan" published on the DAP website www.dapmalaysia.org https://dapmalaysia.org/statements/2018/12/16/28004. The Plaintiff alleges that this article had been written, published and/or caused to be published by the 1st Defendant and DAP on the said website.

[6] This defamation suit brought by the plaintiff against the six Defendants arose from the publication of two articles on 16 December 2018, which the plaintiff contends contained highly defamatory allegations against him, including implications that he was a rapist whose victim was a minor. The Plaintiff contends that the Defendants were fully aware of the article that contained alleged words of slander, and that the 1st Defendant and DAP were also fully aware of the article that contained alleged words of slander against him was wholly unfounded, untrue and false because:

(i) In 2003, the Plaintiff initiated a suit against DAP for similar allegations that resulted in a settlement when DAP read out a statement/apology in court to the plaintiff on 21 October 2003 acknowledging that its allegation in particular, on the issue of rape/statutory rape, was wholly unfounded.

(ii) Pursuant to that, DAP had carried/published the apology on its website www.dapmalaysia.org on 21 October 2003.

(iii) The 2nd Defendant had reported this matter with the publication entitled "Rahim Thamby Chik drops suit after DAP concedes mistake" on the online news portal of www.malaysiakini.com on 21 October 2003. This article was within the knowledge of the 3rd Defendant as editor-in-chief.

[7] In determining