JUDGMENT

Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah JC:

Preliminary

[1] The plaintiffs brought this defamation suit against the defendant, with the defendant filing a counterclaim against the plaintiffs. This is the judgment rendered following the trial.

[2] There are two plaintiffs in this case, a husband and wife. The plaintiff is an airline pilot who holds the position of Captain with Malaysian Airlines.

[3] At the material time, the 2nd plaintiff was a member of Parti Keadilan Rakyat ("PKR") and known in the political circle as 'Puchong Rani' since she lived in Puchong. Her educational background also includes a law degree.

[4] The defendant is a Malaysian politician. He became involved in politics in 1987 when he joined the Malaysian Indian Congress ("MIC"). In the twelve (12) years that followed, he joined PKR and rose to serve as its Member of Parliament for Padang Serai. He rejoined MIC in 2018 and became a member of its Central Working Committee ("CWC"). In 2021, he left MIC.

The Witness Evidence

[5] According to the 1st plaintiff ("PW2"), he has never met the defendant personally. The whole thing began when, on 4 June 2019, Murali A/L Ballah ("Murali" or "PW1"), a friend of the pl