The DAP chairman and former Penang chief minister told the High Court here he had no choice but to file the present lawsuit after his demand that the Bersatu president withdraw his statements, made via media releases, went unheeded.
“This shows how arrogant the defendant (Muhyiddin) is. Much damage to my reputation and image as a politician has been caused due to the defamatory statements issued by the defendant,” Lim said in a witness statement tendered and read at the trial of his suit against the Bersatu president.
Lim said the defamatory remarks were unfounded. He said they concerned race and religion as Yayasan Al-Bukhary is a Muslim charity devoted to Islamic activities.
“It was made to garner support among Malay-Muslims by making adverse statements against non-Muslim and non-Malay politicians,” he said.
He said the defamatory statements have been widely circulated through the defendant’s Facebook account, which attracted a large number of readers and comments. They were also widely covered by the media.
Lim and Muhyiddin were in prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Cabinet when Pakatan Harapan swept to power after the May 2018 general election.
Muhyiddin was named home minister in Mahathir’s administration.
He was appointed prime minister in March 2020 following the Sheraton Move which saw several Bersatu and PKR MPs join forces with BN, PAS and various parties from Sabah and Sarawak to form a new government.
Lim, who is the Bagan MP, said he did not cancel Yayasan Al-Bukhary’s tax exemption status during his tenure as finance minister.
“The statements made by the defendant were baseless and without any supporting evidence,” he said.
He said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made a statement in Parliament on March 21 last year exposing the inaccuracy of Muhyiddin’s claims.
“He confirmed that I did not revoke Yayasan Al-Bukhary’s tax exemption granted under paragraph 44(6) of the Income Tax Act 1967,” he said.
Lim said the finance ministry had also made a press statement at the time denying that neither Lim nor any of its officers had revoked the exemption.
He said he was made to understand by his lawyers that Muhyiddin had produced a letter from Yayasan Al-Bukhary stating that the exemption was “recently” withdrawn.
“Therefore, it is clear that the exemption status of Yayasan Al-Bukhary was withdrawn during the tenure of the defendant (Muhyiddin) as prime minister, based on the letter signed by Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary on Feb 5, 2021.
“I left office on Feb 2, 2020. Further, Syed Mokhtar’s letter did not name me as the purported person who issued any instructions or direction to have the exemption status revoked,” he said.
Lim filed the suit on March 27 last year, seeking an apology and retraction of the three allegedly defamatory statements made by Muhyiddin on Facebook and in major newspapers and portals.
He said that in their natural and ordinary meanings, the statements, made between March 9 and 12, were meant to show that he had abused his position and power by authorising the imposition of taxes and penalties on a welfare foundation.
He said the statements were also meant to depict him as being racist, anti-Malay, anti-Islam and a vindictive person, and that he had acted in bad faith.
Muhyiddin denies defaming Lim and is relying on the defences of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege to defeat Lim’s suit.
The hearing before judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain continues tomorrow.