DAP man to appeal against High Court’s ruling on Richard Wee’s defamation suit

KUCHING (Feb 2): Michael Kong, a special assistant to Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen, will file an appeal next Tuesday against the High Court’s judgement favouring Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations (SFCA) president Dato Richard Wee over a defamation suit.

This was disclosed by Chong, who is also Kong’s defence counsel in the case, when delivering boxes of oranges to the three newspaper organisations under the See Hua Group here today.

Chong, also Stampin MP and Padungan assemblyman, added that Kong had, last Wednesday, filed an application for stay of the execution of judgement, which was an order to take down the disputed Facebook post that Kong uploaded on July 21, 2020.

“If there is no stay order, then in the event in the future we succeed in our appeal, there would be no way for us to put the post up again,” explained Chong.

“Without the stay order, we have to take down the post but if we have the stay order, we do not have to put up the post.”

However, Chong said he did not know when exactly the High Court would provide the decision on their application.

On Jan 26 this year, High Court Judge Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab ordered Kong to pay RM250,000 in total damages to Wee. The judge also ordered Kong to remove the Facebook post within seven days from judgement.

Wee had sued Kong over disparaging remarks made against him and family in the post.

Wee sought general and exemplary damages for libel and malicious falsehood, and an injunction to restrain Kong from publishing, causing to be published, circulating and distributing the said post.

Kong’s post was made after Wee, in 2020, made a personal observation that more urban Chinese voters in Sarawak would likely support the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in the state election due to the coalition’s continued efforts to defend Sarawak’s rights.

Wee, when met then, had said: “The most offending remarks levelled at me concerned my personal reputation and that of my family. My family’s name is something that I treasure a lot and he (Kong) tried to say that it’s corrupt and all that.

“It’s not something that I, the family, could take. Basically like the judge said, we are the third generation and I am just trying to keep up my family’s name.”

Among those accompanying Chong was Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.