Ismail Sabri Sues Lokman Adam For Defamation & Obtains Court Order To Have His Postings Removed
Following a lawsuit, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has acquired an interim injunction from the High Court ordering Datuk Lokman Noor Adam to remove all videos on his social media profiles that purportedly defamed the prime minister, today.
Initially, Lokman, a member of UMNO, pleaded innocence in the Sessions Court on September 1 to two charges of having made and instituting aggressive interactions against Ismail Sabri and the government via a Facebook app under the username “Lokman Noor Adam Official.”
The alleged violations occurred on August 20 and 22.
Ismail Sabri first sought the injunction in a suit filed against Lokman on September 8. The lawsuit was filed in the prime minister’s private capacity as an UMNO vice-president, with Lokman designated as the sole defendant in the suit.
Ismail Sabri, 62, asserted in the claim statement that Lokman made offensive remarks about him in a video entitled Bila Presiden UMNO Panggil Tak Datang! Tapi PM Ada Masa Jumpa Mahathir – Lokman Adam (When UMNO’s president calls, he doesn’t show up! However, the Prime Minister has time to meet with Mahathir).
According to him, the comments mean that he had met with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and had arranged or aimed to make preparations with the former prime minister and other Opposition political parties to continue to stay as prime minister by turning his back on and dishonouring UMNO.
He contended the defendant’s devious, disparaging, and misrepresentations were posted on four social media accounts, including “Lokman Adam” on YouTube, “Lokman Noor Adam Official” on Facebook, “lokmanooradam” on Instagram, and “datoklokmanadam” on Tik Tok.
Ismail Sabri stated that he had not met with Dr Mahathir and other political parties for the goal of preventing the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of a national election so that he could remain prime minister.
He is requesting general and exemplary damages, as well as interest, costs, and any other reprieve the court considers fit.
Ismail Sabri’s lawyer, Ragunath Kesavan, said this came after Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain granted his client, the UMNO vice-president, an ex parte application.
“The court imposed an injunction requiring the defendant to delete a post titled Bila Presiden UMNO Panggil Tak Datang! Tapi PM Ada Masa Jumpa Mahathir that had been posted to the defendant’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts.”
“The court also issued an injunction prohibiting the defendant or his representatives from attempting to make similar claims on social networking sites or any other web page affiliated with the defendant,” he told reporters after the chambers hearing, as per The Star.
The ex-parte order was released on today, as per Kesavan, awaiting the inter-parte hearing on September 26.