Najib Razak's Wife Rosmah Mansor Sues Comedian Harith Iskander for Defamation
The wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, is suing comedian Harith Iskander Musa over a stand-up comedy performance she claims mocked and insulted her. Rosmah filed the lawsuit through her law firm on 9 June.
Rosmah stated that Harith performed his show, ‘Harith Iskander: The Outspoken Comedy Tour’, at the Swiss-Garden Hotel in Melaka on 17 January. She claims that during the performance, Harith personally and deliberately made defamatory statements about her through a visual display shown to a large audience.
‘During the show, the defendant displayed images of frightening mythological creatures in Malaysian society, including but not limited to ’toyol’, ‘pontianak’, and ‘pocong’, and then displayed an image of the plaintiff to the audience as part of the defendant’s joke narrative,’ the statement read. The plaintiff claims the defendant made statements implying that someone looking in the rear-view mirror whilst driving on a dark road would see a frightening figure, clearly depicting the plaintiff as a terrifying entity.
The plaintiff contends that the defamatory statements were made with the intention of damaging her reputation and good name, as well as insulting her through body shaming, with the defendant’s actions harming her reputation, good name, dignity, and social standing. Mansor is seeking an unconditional apology from Harith, along with unspecified general, aggravated, and exemplary damages, as well as any other relief the court deems appropriate.
In his statement of defence, Harith denied that his performance was malicious or defamatory towards the plaintiff. He noted that whilst the plaintiff relied on two videos of his stand-up comedy uploaded to TikTok, these did not represent the entire comedy performance. Harith said the incomplete videos were uploaded to the platform by third parties without his consent or knowledge, breaching the rules set during the show. He argued that before beginning his performance, he communicated a set of rules and a disclaimer, which he will rely upon during the trial.
The defendant also stated that Rosmah’s image was displayed ‘for a split second’, which he claimed was less than five seconds of the entire 90-minute performance. ‘The display was only momentary as it was not the main theme or focus of the defendant’s show. It was not repeated and cannot be separated from the overall context of the comedy performance,’ he added.
Rosmah’s lawyer, Mohamed Baharudeen Mohamed Ariff, told reporters that the court has instructed the plaintiff to file her response to the statement of defence by 30 July. The case is scheduled for electronic review on 31 July.