2018/09/03
The defamation suit brought by Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd against Gerakan acting Youth chief Jason Loo Jieh Sheng for his allegation of discrepancies in the cost of the Penang undersea tunnel has been "settled" in the High Court.
Zenith's lawyer Syahrul Fadzlee Kamaruzaman said his client is relieved that the case, which has been ongoing since 2016, has been settled.
"My client felt their side of the version was not taken seriously. Now our client feels relief that Jason Loo made a statement in court to clear the air," Syahrul Fadzlee told reporters outside court today.
In his statement to the court, Loo said: "I unequivocally and sincerely state that the statements I made in 2016, which were reported in Malaysiakini, were directed to the Penang government and not meant in any way to impute disparaging conduct of the company. I regret any inconvenience caused."
Syahrul Fadzlee said: "Our client's message is that they are glad this is over, after two years, and they all can move on.
"My client, Zenith's CEO Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli, and the company feel they have been vindicated by Loo's remarks."
Syahrul Fadzlee was accompanied by lawyers Aiman Abdul Rahman and Syahril Md Isa. The matter was settled in a consent judgment.
Zenith initially sued Loo for defamation over two reports published in Malaysiakini.
On June 23, 2016, Malaysiakini quoted Loo questioning the actual cost of the project's feasibility studies and detailed design in a report headlined Gerakan Youth: China firm says tunnel study is RM 90m.
Loo had claimed that the feasibility study and detailed design for the undersea tunnel and three highways cost only RM90 million (US$22 million) and not RM305 million as claimed by the Penang government.
The suit also referred to another Malaysiakini report on June 27, 2016, headlined Gerakan questions RM200m discrepancy in Penang tunnel project.
In the report, Loo said the media had frequently quoted Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and state executive councillor Lim Hock Seng as saying the tunnel cost was RM3.7 billion.
However, Loo added, a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the tunnel cost was RM3.5 billion.