NGO leader fined RM10,000, jailed a day for violating injunction order

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today ordered the leader of an NGO to serve one day in jail and pay a RM10,000 fine for contempt of court for breaching an interim injunction in a defamation suit involving his siblings.

A three-member bench led by Justice Wong Kian Kheong allowed an appeal by Zulkifli Ibrahim’s brother, Nasir, and sister, Narimah, ruling that the High Court’s earlier decision to issue only a warning and RM3,000 in costs was manifestly inadequate.

“The defamation suit may be linked to a family dispute. However, the failure to obey the injunction order issued by the High Court is an affront to the administration of justice,” said Wong, who sat with Justices Ismail Brahim and Amarjeet Singh.

The court heard that Zulkifli, 71, president of Persatuan Ehsan Bersatu, published nine social media posts despite an order prohibiting him from commenting on the dispute pending the disposal of the suit in the Shah Alam High Court.

“Only today did you decide to purge the contempt by removing the postings and apologising to the court,” Wong said, adding that the punishment took into account Zulkifli’s age and role as a leader in civil society.

The court also ordered Zulkifli to pay RM20,000 in costs to his siblings, who filed the defamation suit in 2024 over an ancestral property left by their late mother.

The bench gave him one month to pay the RM10,000 fine, failing which he must serve seven days behind bars.

Zulkifli elected to serve the one-day jail sentence immediately by remaining in court custody until the end of office hours.

According to the facts of the case, Nasir and Narimah filed the suit together with an application for an interim injunction to restrain Zulkifli from making statements about the property dispute.

On Aug 29, 2024, Zulkifli agreed to comply with the injunction pending the disposal of the suit. However, he subsequently published nine social media posts on the matter, prompting his siblings to commence contempt proceedings against him.

On Oct 21 last year, High Court judge Noor Hayati Mat found Zulkifli guilty of contempt but imposed only a warning and RM3,000 in costs. Nasir and Narimah appealed, leading to today’s decision by the Court of Appeal.

Lawyer Izwan Ishak represented Zulkifli, while HY Chong and Amiteash Theva appeared for Nasir and Narimah.