On September 10, Malaysia’s Federal Court upheld a Court of Appeal civil ruling from December 12, 2023, finding the founder and editor of the Sarawak Report Clare Rewcastle Brown and two others liable for defamation against Terengganu’s Sultanah Nur Zahirah in the 2018 book, ‘The Sarawak Report – The Inside Story of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Expose’.
A three-judge panel, led by Justice Nallini Pathmanathan, unanimously ruled that the application from Rewcastle Brown, Gerakbudaya Enterprise publisher Chong Ton Sin, and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd did not satisfy novelty or public importance threshold requirements necessary to allow an appeal in Malaysia’s apex court. The court observed that while Rewcastle Brown’s book provided a significant foundation for the 1MDB expose, a defamatory passage towards Sultanah Nur Zahirah was included.
This decision requires Rewcastle-Brown to pay a further MYR 15,000 (approx. USD 3,460) in costs to Sultanah Nur Zahirah, on top of the MYR 420,000 (approx. USD 97,500) in costs and damages ruled in September to the former monarch. The journalist‘s appeal application against a February criminal defamation sentencing in absentia to two years in prison remains pending.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah filed the initial defamation suit in 2018, claiming that the trio had disparaged her in the book in which Rewcastle Brown allegedly incorrectly claimed that the Sultan’s wife, rather than his sister, had a friendly relationship with a businessman linked to the 1MDB scandal. Contesting the contents of a single paragraph, Sultanah Nur Zahirah had originally sought MYR 100 million (approx. USD 24 million) in damages from each defendant.
Rewcastle Brown’s book, published in 2018, revealed one of the world’s largest corruption scandals, centred on the embezzlement of USD 4.6 billion from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, and implicating its founder and former Prime Minister Najib Razak. The kleptocracy case also implicated several high-profile celebrities and saw the first criminal charges filed against Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs.
NUJM said: “Rewcastle-Brown’s critical role in exposing corruption should not be overshadowed by a narrow focus on defamation. The court’s reliance on complex linguistic analysis in this case underscores the difficulties journalists face in navigating defamation laws. Such legal barriers risk stifling the important work of the press in holding power to account. We call on authorities to ensure that Malaysia remains a safe environment for journalists to operate freely and without the fear of undue legal consequences. The NUJ reaffirms its commitment to defending press freedom and the public’s right to be informed.”
IFJ said: “The decision to uphold the punitive defamation ruling against Clare Rewcastle Brown sends a chilling message to message to all journalists covering corruption and matters in the public interest in Malaysia. Journalists and media workers must be free to report without fear of legal intimidation and retribution, with this case demonstrating the urgent need for reform and the establishment of the long-awaited independent Malaysian media council. The IFJ calls on the Malaysian government to uphold its commitment to press freedom, overturn Rewcastle Brown’s case immediately and end the harassment against media workers.”