JUDGMENT

Suleiman Hashim J:

This is first defendant's application under O. 18 r. 19(1)(a) Rules of the High Court 1980 that plaintiff's suit against first defendant be dismissed with costs, dated 31 December 1996.

Plaintiff's suit against first defendant is for alleged defamation in respect of two speeches and one press statement made by first defendant as averred in plaintiff's statement of claim dated 12 August 1996:

(1) 15. In the 10th March 1996 issue of the Daily Express, the 2nd and 3rd Defendants falsely and maliciously published an article entitled 'Yong: Previous govt's acts make changes to laws necessary' which contains a statement referring to and/or concerning the Plaintiff and/or his conduct as the then Chief Minister made on the 9th March 1996 by the 1st Defendant while opening the SAPP Constituency Committee office for Petagas.

(2) 18. In the 24th June 1996 issue of the Daily Express the 2nd and 3rd Defendants further published or caused to be published falsely and maliciously a defamatory article entitled: '57,000 ha given free!' (hereinafter referred to as 'the second article') which contains a speech made by the 1st Defendant when opening a Strategic Planning Workshop organised by the Parti Demokratik Sabah (PDS) another component part of the BN, on 23rd June 1996.

(3) 21. In the 4th July 1996 issue of the Daily Express, the 2nd Defendant and the 3rd Defendant once again falsely and maliciously published or caused to be published an article entitled 'Yong says again: 57,000 ha given free' (hereinafter referred to as the third article) which contains defamatory statement made in a press conference by the 1st Defendant in the following words and/or passages:

And in respect of the two speeches and one press conference by first defendant, plaintiff complains as averred in the statement of claim:

(1) 16. The article complained of in paragraph 15 (hereinafter referred to as 'the first article') contains defamatory and false and malicious words and/or passages referring to and/or concerning the Plaintiff and/ or his conduct as the then Chief Minister of Sabah as follows:

(a) Parcels of land within urban centres would be auctioned off instead of issued to private individuals or firms as was practised by the previous Government.

(b) He also cited examples on how the previous State Government abused its excessive powers.

(c) He said one glaring case was granting 384 acres of urban land to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands for land premium amounting to only RM7 million.

(d) Yong said the pieces of land concerned was charged to a bank for RM108 million, which meant an immediate gain of over RM100 million for company.

(e) However, the actual worth of the land is well in the region of RM150 million, Yong said.

17. The words and/or passages complained of in paragraph 15 herein meant and were understood to mean in their natural and ordinary meaning or in that meaning in the context of the first article referred to in paragraphs 16(a) to 16(e) herein or any of them that the Plaintiff as the then Chief Minister:

a) administered the State of Sabah alone illegally like a leader of a criminal syndicate by abusing his lawful authorities and/or constitutional jurisdiction;

b) surreptitiously conspired to give away State land to foreign individuals or firms without any payment at all or with insufficient land premium paid by the recipients;

c) administered the various Government departments assigned to him without or beyond and/or exceeding the authorities legally and constitutionally vested in him;

d) gave his approval for land alienation and/or land premium assessment as he wished and in total disregard of existing laws to cheat the Sabah State Government by charging low premium;

e) having been vested by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri with the executive functions to administer or manage State natural resources acted illegally to administer the relevant departments to the detriment of the Statement Gove