AirAsia loses defamation lawsuit against former Tourism Malaysia boss
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has tossed out a lawsuit filed by AirAsia claiming defamation against a former politician.
In the suit against former Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong, the airline failed to prove it had been materially damaged by a blog post written by Wee and it failed to prove malice.
The suit was filed two years ago after Wee published ‘false and malicious statements’ in a number of blog posts on his website, including an article about AirAsia owing RM50 million in passenger service charges.
Wee is also a former chairman of Tourism Malaysia and had several run-ins with the airline during this time.
"The plaintiff had failed to prove that there was any malice on the defendant’s part in altering or publishing the article," Judge Datuk Su Geok Yiam said in the ruling.
She ordered AirAsia to pay RM50,000 in costs to Wee.
"I am vindicated. This suit should have not been filed in the first place," Wee said.
"AirAsia had filed a suit because our reputation has been damaged by this conduct, in addition to our efforts to correct the disinformation published about AirAsia," the airline said, adding that it is considering an appeal.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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