MELAKA, Jan 12 — The defamation suit filed by Seputeh MP Teresa Kok against Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh will proceed to trial after mediation efforts failed to result in an amicable settlement.
Lawyer Datuk Sankara Nair, representing Kok, said both parties were unable to reach an out-of-court settlement during the mediation session conducted before Deputy Registrar Suzana Mokhtar at the Melaka Court Mediation Centre today.
“The trial has been fixed for February 12 and February 13 at the Melaka High Court. We will therefore meet him (Dr Akmal) in court on the scheduled dates,” he told the media outside the centre.
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process that aims to settle cases without proceeding to a full trial.
Earlier, the session, which lasted nearly an hour, was attended by Sankara, Kok, Dr Akmal, and his counsel Syahrul Sazwan Salehin.
In the suit filed on October 25, 2024, Kok alleged that Dr Akmal made insulting and derogatory statements portraying her as lacking knowledge, particularly on matters related to halal certification, and as opposing government policies on Islamic practices.
The allegedly defamatory remarks were made in a TikTok video posted by Dr Akmal on September 7, 2024.
Kok, who named the Merlimau state assemblyman cum Melaka Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security Committee chairman as the sole defendant, is seeking general, aggravated, and exemplary damages.
She is also seeking an injunction to restrain him from further uttering, writing or publishing defamatory statements against her, as well as any other relief deemed just and appropriate by the court.
