YEOH TSEOW SUAN v MUSA BIN HAJI HASSAN

w-02ncvcw-2301-12-2024 Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan) 12 January 2026 • W-02(NCvC)(W)-2301-12/2024 • 76 min read
39 cases cited (2 SG, 37 foreign)

Catchwords

Defamation — Plaintiff’s standing — Applicability of Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspapers Ltd to individual plaintiffs; whether public figure barred from suing. Defamatory meaning — Whether statements alleging religious subversion and national betrayal lower plaintiff in estimation of right-thinking members of society. Reference — Whether indirect or collective references (“MEREKA”) reasonably identify plaintiff. Publication — Whether speech at public university forum constitutes publication to third parties. Defences — Justification (truth), fair comment on matters of public interest, qualified privilege in public discourse.

Practice Areas

Defamation

Judges (3)

Azimah binti Omar Delivered Choo Kah Sing Coram Shahnaz binti Sulaiman Coram

Counsel (11)

Azam Aziz & Co Firm Wei Jit Firm Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan Counsel Appellant Harshaan Zamani Counsel Appellant Lee Guo Wen Counsel Appellant Lim Wei Jit Counsel Appellant Mohd Khairul Azam bin Abdul Aziz Counsel Respondent Nevyn Vinosh Venudran Counsel Appellant Nur Jehan bt Abu Bakar Counsel Respondent Razlan Hadri bin Zulkifli Counsel Appellant Sangeet Kaur Deo d/o Karpal Singh Counsel Appellant

Parties (2)

Musa bin Haji Hassan Respondent Yeoh Tseow Suan Appellant

Case Significance

YEOH TSEOW SUAN v MUSA BIN HAJI HASSAN is a Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan) decision dated January 12, 2026 (citation: w-02ncvcw-2301-12-2024). <p>Hannah Yeoh (Minister and Segambut MP) sued former IGP Musa Hassan for defamation over slanderous statements made during a forum at UiTM alleging links to evangelist groups seeking to undermine Islam. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the defamatory statements referred to the plaintiff, were published to third parties, and the defendant failed to prove the defences of justification, fair comment, and qualified privilege. Damages of RM250,000 were awarded.</p> The panel comprised Azimah binti Omar, Choo Kah Sing and Shahnaz binti Sulaiman, with Azimah binti Omar delivering the judgment.

Summary

Hannah Yeoh (Minister and Segambut MP) sued former IGP Musa Hassan for defamation over slanderous statements made during a forum at UiTM alleging links to evangelist groups seeking to undermine Islam. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the defamatory statements referred to the plaintiff, were published to third parties, and the defendant failed to prove the defences of justification, fair comment, and qualified privilege. Damages of RM250,000 were awarded.

What was the outcome of YEOH TSEOW SUAN v MUSA BIN HAJI HASSAN?

<p>Hannah Yeoh (Minister and Segambut MP) sued former IGP Musa Hassan for defamation over slanderous statements made during a forum at UiTM alleging l...

Statutes Cited

Federal Constitution
Rules of Court 2012
Societies Act 1966
s 9(c)

Cases Cited (39)

SLR (2)
[1996] 1 SLR 623 [1998] 3 SLR 593
UK (6)
[1895] 2 QB 148 [1962] 1 WLR 1111 [1972] AC 1027 [1993] 1 All ER 1011 [1999] 4 All ER 609 [2020] UKPC 7
MY (31)
[1965] 1 MLJ 142 [1973] 2 MLJ 56 [1984] 1 MLJ 7 [1984] 2 MLJ 19 [1989] 1 MLJ 315 [1995] 1 MLJ 39 [1995] 2 AMR 1776 [2005] 2 CLJ 569 [2005] 3 MLJ 4 [2005] 3 MLJ 494 [2012] 2 CLJ 619 [2012] 2 MLJ 394 [2014] 9 MLJ 363 [2015] 5 MLJ 141 [2015] 6 MLJ 187 [2015] 8 CLJ 477 [2016] 5 MLJ 56 [2017] 6 MLJ 133 [2018] 1 CLJ 145 [2018] MLJU 2101 [2019] 1 MLJ 440 [2019] 3 MLJ 720 [2020] 3 MLJ 482 [2021] 2 MLJ 514 [2021] 5 MLJ 79 [2022] 1 MLJ 420 [2022] 3 MLJ 758 [2024] 1 MLJ 306 [2024] MLJU 3687 [2024] MLJU 3885 [2025] MLJU 3166