PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi (pic) who had brought a defamation suit against a state Gerakan leader, Dr Thor Teong Gee, finding that the words used by Thor — “stupid” and “recalcitrant” — were not defamatory in the legal sense.

“We do not think in law that the words uttered are capable of being defamatory. Of course, they are not nice words to use,” Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, who chaired a three-man bench, said.

Thor’s counsel, Baljit Singh, was not required to respond to the submission by Ramesh Sivakumar, who appeared for Ooi.The court also ordered RM10,000 in costs to be paid to Thor.

In April last year, the then judicial commissioner Nurmala Salim dismissed the suit filed by Ooi after Thor allegedly called him in Chinese, “stupid and recalcitrant”, at a press conference in 2010.

Ooi said the words “maliciously defamed” his profession and honour.

In making her decision, Nurmala, who listed four grounds to support her decision, said Ooi failed to state the exact words used in the original language in his statement of claim.

“Secondly, the words ‘stupid and recalcitrant’ in Chinese were used in circumstances that are not personally directed to Ooi but in relation to the issue on radiation waves from telecommunication towers.

“The actual words in Chinese read ‘ming wan bu ling’ which means ‘sangat degil’ (very stubborn) and ‘yu chun’ meaning ‘stupid’,” she said.

She said that Ooi failed to prove that his image and reputation were tarnished.

In fact, she said that Ooi went on to win the Jelutong parliamentary seat with a bigger majority in the 2013 general election.

Nurmala added that the court was “inclined” to concur with the defendants that “stupid and recalcitrant” were commonly used words by Malaysians when they were angry and in an argument. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 6, 2015.