KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court dismissed the defamation suit filed by low-cost carrier AirAsia Berhad against former Tourism Malaysia chairman Wee Choo Keong over a blog post three years ago.
Judge Datuk Su Geok Yam, in delivering the decision today, said AirAsia had failed to prove malice on Wee’s part over the post on the airline’s alleged airport tax debt.
She said no damage was done to the plaintiff as a result of the article being published.
"The plaintiff failed to defend the case and the article did not affect the reputation of the company.
"The plaintiff failed to prove that the defendant had malicious intention when posting the article," she said.
The court dismissed the claims brought by the plaintiff and also ordered RM50,000 costs to be paid to the defendant.
In July 2015, AirAsia filed a suit against Wee, a former Wangsa Maju MP, for allegedly publishing defamatory statements in his blog, http://weechookeong.com including an article titled "Why Liow and MAHB encouraged AirAsia to owe RM50 million PSC/Airport Tax?" published on April 20 the same year.