THE Penang High Court has scheduled Nov 26 to deliver its verdict on a defamation suit filed by businessman Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping against Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
Justice Datuk Quay Chew Soon announced that the decision would be delivered online via Zoom at 9am.
In preparation, he set Sept 17 for the filing of notes of proceedings, followed by Oct 15 for written submissions and Nov 5 for reply to their written submissions.
The defamation suit arose from remarks allegedly made by Chow concerning Tan’s resignation from the board of trustees of the Silver Jubilee Home for the Aged. Tan was represented by counsel Datuk K. Kirubakaran and Kek Boon Wei while Chow was represented by lawyer Cheah Eng Soon.
Cheah continued cross-examining Tan today after having completed his cross-examination of two other trustees, Bernard Kok Yin Fook and Datuk Loh Yeow Boo, yesterday.
Tan, Kok and Loh had resigned from the board of trustees. Following their resignations, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Fuzi Abdul Razak appointed former state executive councillor Datuk Seri Chong Eng, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin, and Batu Uban assemblyman A. Kumaresan as the new trustees on Dec 8, 2023.
The trial, which was scheduled for three days, ended a day earlier.
After Tan completed his testimony today, former state legal adviser Datuk Norazmi Narawi, Sri Nipah Apartment chairman Su Kok Wah, and Chow took to the witness stand one after the other.
The court heard that Chow, as chairman of the trustee board by virtue of being the Chief Minister, attended his first meeting with the three trustees on 19th April 2022 to discuss draft documents for the construction of a workers’ hostel.
During cross-examination, Kirubakaran questioned Chow whether his request for the Silver Jubilee Home to be represented by a legal firm was an afterthought, given that Bernard Kok was already serving as the home’s legal adviser.
In response, Chow clarified that there is a difference between a legal adviser and representation by a legal firm. He further stated that apart from requesting that the corporation (home) engage a registered law firm, the proposed project goes through an open tender process.
The land housing the Silver Jubilee Home for the Aged, along with the portion of the vacant land within its premises, belongs to the Penang and Province Wellesley Silver Jubilee Fund (“Corporation”), of which Chow serves as the chairman, as entrusted under the Corporation’s Act.