Ramasamy drops defamation suit against Chow over land sale
GEORGE TOWN : Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has withdrawn his defamation
Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has withdrawn his defamation
suit against chief minister Chow Kon Yeow over the disputed Batu Kawan land deal.
In a consent judgment recorded before sessions judge Helmi Ghani, Ramasamy agreed to accept Chow's explanation that he had chaired two key Penang Development Corporation (PDC) meetings: a sub-committee meeting on Nov 28, 2022, and a board meeting on Feb 9, 2023.
Both meetings dealt with the sale of 226ha of land in Byram, Batu Kawan, to Umech Land Sdn Bhd.
Ramasamy agreed to drop the lawsuit without liberty to file afresh.
Shamsher Singh Thind represented Ramasamy, while Ruebankumar Asokan appeared for Chow.
Separately, PDC also withdrew its defamation suit against Ramasamy. As part of the settlement, he agreed to retract statements made about the agency and to end both suits permanently, with no order as to costs.
Ramasamy initiated defamation proceedings against Chow on July 18 last year over a statement published on the latter's official Facebook page on Oct 3, 2023, which allegedly accused Ramasamy of being involved in approving the land deal and damaged his reputation.
The Batu Kawan land deal involving a 226ha plot, initially sold through a directly negotiated tender, became the subject of controversy due to claims that it was sold below the market value.
PDC initially sold the land to Umech Land for RM646 million.
Following the controversy and a change in Umech Land's majority ownership, PDC cancelled the joint venture agreement and opened the sale of the land through an open tender.
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