A five-member panel led by Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim allowed an appeal by the Attorney-General’s Chambers to strike out the suit.
The AGC was given leave by the High Court in 2020 to intervene.
In its originating summons, LFL sought an injunction to restrain the Singapore government from enforcing the country’s laws, particularly Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), or taking any action against LFL.
In delivering the court’s decision, Justice Abang Iskandar said the suit relates to sovereign or state immunity and Malaysian courts are unable to exercise any adjudicative jurisdiction over the acts of a sovereign nation.
The panel, which also comprised Justices Nallini Pathmanathan, Zabariah Yusof, Rhodzariah Bujang and Hanipah Farikullah, dismissed the Malaysian government’s appeal to strike out LFL’s second suit that the group retains the right to express its opinion on any matter in Malaysia and that its right cannot be impeded by the Pofma law.
Abang Iskandar held that the suit involved Malaysian parties, over which the Malaysian courts have jurisdiction, and did not involve issues of encroachment into state or sovereign immunity.
He said LFL had expressed concern and sought clarification of its right of freedom of expression under the Federal Constitution for statements made in Malaysia, which were the subject matter of Singapore legislation, namely the Pofma law.
“This, in our view, is not obviously and plainly unsustainable,” he said.
The Singapore government issued a “correction notice” to LFL in 2020 following a press statement released by the group on its website alleging that brutal and unlawful methods were used to execute prisoners in Singapore’s Changi prison.
The Singapore government said the article contained false statements and directed the group to insert a correction notice, adding that failure to comply would amount to an offence under its Pofma law.
LFL did not comply with the correction directed. Instead, it filed two originating summonses in the High Court – one against Shanmugam and the other against the Malaysian government.
On June 10, 2021, the High Court allowed the government and the AGC’s applications to strike out both suits. However, on July 20, 2022, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision and ordered the suits to be remitted back to the High Court for a full trial.
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and Liew Horng Bin appeared for the government and the AGC, while lawyers Gurdial Singh Njiar, Latheefa Koya, Shahid Adli Kamarudin and Abraham Au acted for LFL.