ALOR STAR: Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said he respected the Alor Star High Court decision to award Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor with RM250,000 in a defamation suit against him yesterday.
Mahfuz said he fully respected the court decision and did not harbour any grudge against anyone.
However, Mahfuz, who is also Kedah Pakatan Harapan chairman, said he has consulted his lawyers and decided to file an appeal against the decision.
"I fully respect the court decision and I will not once accuse the court of being unfair or insisting that over my dead body first.
"I do not blame the judge, my lawyers and even Sanusi's lawyers," he said when contacted.
Yesterday, the High Court here ordered Mahfuz to pay Sanusi RM250,000 in damages in a defamation suit.
It was reported that Judge Dr Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari allowed Sanusi's defamation claim against Mahfuz over his statement on the purchase of a Toyota Vellfire multipurpose vehicle (MPV) by Syarikat Air Darul Aman (Sada) four years ago.
The court awarded Sanusi RM200,000 in general damages and RM50,000 in punitive damages, besides RM30,000 in legal costs.
Mahfuz was also ordered to issue an apology in a Bahasa Malaysia daily and an English daily within 14 days of the decision, as well as on Mahfuz's Facebook account, in terms that are approved by Sanusi.
In October 2020, Sanusi filed the suit against Mahfuz over his Facebook posting alleging that Sanusi, who is Sada chairman, had bought the MPV by abusing Sada's fund for his personal usage.
Mahfuz had made the remarks in a posting, "Komen Politik Semasa", on Oct 17, 2020.
The court has also allowed Sanusi's application to seek a permanent injunction against Mahfuz, his agents and supporters from repeating the defamatory remarks.
Commenting further, Mahfuz said he is not taking criticisms by supporters from across the political divide following the court decision.
In fact, he thanked them for caring about him and continued to train their focus on him.
"I hope they will be patient. I will still respect the judicial system even if at the end of the appeal, I would still be ordered to pay the award to Sanusi.
"Should I lose in the appeal and the court decides for me to pay, I will not drag my feet or issue the "over my dead body" statement first. I just hope they will be patient as I go through the appeal process," he said.