JUDGMENT

Mohamed Dzaiddin CJ:

This is an application for leave to appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeal under s. 96(a) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 (CJA).

Encik Karpal, for the applicant, formulated three questions for our consideration. However, in the course of his submission he wanted leave to be granted only on two questions, namely:

(1)Whether the Court of Appeal was right in holding the convictions of Sukma Darmawan and Dr. Munawar Anees by the Sessions Court, Kuala Lumpur and the admission of the facts read out in Court by both of them could constitute a defence of justification in respect of the offending words meriting dismissal of the applicant's suit under Order 18 rule 19 of the Rules of the High Court, 1980; and

(2)Whether the Court of Appeal was right in relying on the principle in Lange v. Atkinson3 NZLR (1988) 424 and concluding the decision of the learned trial Judge on the issues of qualified privilege should not be disturbed having regard to the application to strike out the applicant's suit being one under Order 18 rule 19 of the Rules of the High Court, 1980.

We are of the view that the question of law as distilled from the above questions for