KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18: Malaysia’s former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was awarded 4.5 million ringgit (1.2 million dollars) in damages on Thursday over a libellous book which the judge said had triggered his 1998 sacking.

The book, ‘50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Be PM’, by Khalid Jafri accused Anwar of sodomy, corruption and an extra-marital affair that resulted in an illegitimate daughter.

“The defendants’ main purpose in publishing the book was to destroy the plaintiff’s reputation and political career,” said High Court judge Mohamad Hishamudin Mohamad Yunus.

The judge noted that the book was distributed to delegates at the general assembly of the ruling United Malays National Organization in May 1998.

“The defendants and others who conspired with the defendants achieved their purpose,” he said. “The plaintiff’s political career was ruined as a result of the publication of the book.”

“Faced with such a vicious and venomous public attack on his integrity, launched by the defendants in cahoots with others, the public humiliation and ridicule and the pain and mental distress suffered by the plaintiff and his family must be beyond description.”

The award included 4.0 million ringgit for defamation, 500,000 ringgit for ‘conspiracy to injure’, and all legal costs.

Hishamudin said awards of this size were unusual in Malaysia but that it reflected the gravity of the charges against Anwar, his high position at the time, and the lack of apology from the defendants ‘who until today remain defiant’.—AFP