KUALA LUMPUR – Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam has agreed to publicly apologise to former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin over his statements regarding the government’s management of the Covid-19 vaccine.
This will thus end the legal battle between the two, which began in January 2022.
The public apology will be broadcast on Lokman’s official Facebook and YouTube pages, as stipulated in the conditions of the out-of-court settlement reached with Khairy.
Lokman has also agreed to pay Khairy an undisclosed sum in damages.
Khairy filed the suit against Lokman on January 25, two years ago, alleging that the latter defamed him in two statements and pictures posted on his social media pages on January 6, as well as another defamatory statement made during his live YouTube session on January 10 of the same year.
Lokman’s statement, which Khairy alleged to be defamatory, accused him of acting recklessly and irresponsibly in procuring Covid-19 vaccines for the country’s vaccination programme.
In his statement of claim, Khairy said that Lokman’s statement could have damaged his reputation as the then health minister and chairman of the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF).
He also claimed that the statements were clearly intended to undermine the efforts of everyone involved, including the Health Ministry, CITF, and the government, in combating the Covid-19 pandemic at that time.
In the suit, Khairy sought to have Lokman pay general, exemplary, and aggravated damages, as well as any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
He also requested a court order for Lokman to remove the defamatory materials and an injunction to prevent him from republishing them.
The settlement was reached and recorded today before high court judge John Lee Kien How@Mohd Johan.
The court was initially scheduled to begin hearing the defamation suit today. – April 15, 2024