Seputeh Member of Parliament (MP) Teresa Kok is proceeding with her RM25 million defamation suit against UMNO Youth Chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh over remarks he made regarding her stance on mandatory Halal certification.
In 2024, Teresa commented on the procedures of the Halal certificate application for food & beverage outlets in Malaysia, to which Dr Akmal responded by calling her an “Old Nyonya,” and suggesting that a non-Halal sticker should be placed on her forehead.
Datuk dr muhamad akmal saleh
The Seputeh MP filed the lawsuit last year, and yesterday (12 January), both parties attended mediation at the Melaka High Court.
According to Teresa’s Facebook post, the mediation was unsuccessful as they failed to reach a settlement, and the hearing has been set for 12 and 13 February, just a few days before the Chinese New Year.
“I took my lawyer, Datuk Sankara Nair, and driver to a pork-free restaurant for Melaka’s famous Hainanese chicken rice ball lunch,” Teresa remarked at the end of her post.
Teresa kok (in red)
Meanwhile, Dr Akmal, who is also the assemblyman for Merlimau, spoke to reporters outside the Melaka High Court and addressed the failed mediation.
“I have never attacked anyone. I was just…”
In his statement, the UMNO Youth Chief reiterated that he had never attacked anyone but was merely defending the stance that should never be ignored.
“I’ve never sparked any issues, but rather had them raised by other parties before coming forward to speak out. If I were the aggressive type, I would be the one to attack, but I never attack. I only defend.”
“If you look at the issue of socks or the Halal logo, I wasn’t the one who issued the statement first; I was just defending what had been stated.”
What are your thoughts on the lawsuit?
Also read: Dr Akmal: Conduct Screening on Officials’ & Ministers’ Assets Before Appointing Them to Top Posts
