The Federal Court seven-member bench has ruled that political parties cannot sue individuals for defamation.

Court of Appeal President Rohana Yusuf, who chaired the bench, said the court had answered in the negative a legal question posed by Kepong Member of Parliament Lim Lip Eng to strike out a defamation lawsuit which was filed against him by MCA,

The question is whether a political party can maintain a suit for defamation in the light of the decision in Goldsmith v Bhoyrul (1998), an English case law which provided that political parties cannot be claimants in defamation suits...