Munajat Kalimi, of Taman Nongchik in Johor Baru, expressed his regret before Judicial Commissioner Firuz Jafril over his action to businessman Rahman Sharif and Mudra Tropika Sdn Bhd.

The apology was extended to the board of directors of the company and all its employees.

The judgment also stated that Munajat’s unconditional apology must be published in Berita Harian within 14 days from today.

Rahman and the company, represented by lawyers Mong Chung Seng and Faizal Faiz, were also awarded costs.

Minajat also gave an undertaking not to repeat his conduct and not to trespass on Mudra Tropika’s construction site.

The company filed the suit last year and had named Munajat, Sistem Televisyen Malaysia (TV3), news editor Rohani Ngah and reporter Nashrudin Tajudin as defendants.

On Nov 1, 2014, Munajat, Abdul Hamid Hasan and Mohd Hatta Md Salleh had given statements to the crew of TV3 which then carried a news report, accompanied by visuals.

(Hamid and Hatta had offered their apologies to Rahman and the company early last year. This was later published in Utusan Malaysia.)

The trio had said the construction of D’ Permata, a Malay reserve housing project, was problematic with dust and a mudslide entering nearby residential areas over the last three years.

They had further claimed that the company had breached construction laws and regulations.

Meanwhile, Firuz fixed Nov 29 to hear the suit against TV3 but advised the broadcaster to consider its defence as all three individuals had admitted and apologised for the defamation.

Later, Rahman said he had to act as Munajat and the two others had tried to ruin his company’s reputation by making various false allegations and complaints to the authorities just out of spite due to the success that Mudra Tropika had achieved in redeveloping the Malay enclave in Taman Nongchik.

“In Islam, slander is worse than murder,” said the businesman.