Kuala lumpur: The Court of Appeal has scheduled June 18 to hear Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's appeal against a High Court ruling that ordered him to compensate DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng with RM1.35 million in a defamation lawsuit concerning the withdrawal of tax exemption for Yayasan Albukhary.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Lim's lawyer Guok Ngek Seong confirmed the hearing date following case management. The appellate court is set to hear both Muhyiddin's appeal and Lim's cross-appeal simultaneously. The latter's appeal is related to the High Court's decision not to grant judgment interest.

In November 2024, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled in favor of Lim's suit against Muhyiddin and directed the former prime minister to pay RM350,000 for each of the three statements, totaling RM1.05 million in general damages, alongside RM150,000 for aggravated damages and RM150,000 for exemplary damages. High Court Judge Roz Mawar Rozain also ordered Muhyiddin to remove the defamatory statements from all his social media platforms immediately and issued an injunction preventing further repetition of the statements.

Lim initiated the lawsuit on March 27, 2023, against Muhyiddin for allegedly making three defamatory statements on Facebook on March 9, 11, and 12, 2023, implicating him in the tax exemption issue. These statements were subsequently reported in various newspapers and online news portals.

In her judgment, Roz Mawar determined the statements were defamatory and concluded that Lim, who previously served as the Finance Minister, had substantiated his case against Muhyiddin. She noted that Muhyiddin's actions included aggravating factors, as he neither attempted to verify the allegations before publication nor ceased publication even after Lim's denials.

Muhyiddin argued that the statements were merely comments or opinions based on a letter he received from Yayasan Al-Bukhary.