Judicial commissioner Christopher Chin said the plaintiff was wrongly named and should have been limited to or included the Sarawak state cabinet. The plaintiff, therefore, had no locus standi, he said.

“(The court also finds that) the impugned words do not defame the plaintiff and dismisses the plaintiff’s writ and statement of claim with costs of RM30,000 to the defendant, subject to the allocator,” he said.

The state government filed the suit against Wong, who is former state second finance minister, for RM5 million, for alleged libelous content in a statement issued by him on May 9 this year over the settlement with Petronas on the state sales tax.

Chin said he had on several occasions, urged the parties to resolve political disputes “within the political arena”, and not through the courts.

“This case, which ended after a 10-day trial with seven witnesses from the plaintiff and another three from the defendant, has sapped money and time from both sides, as well as this court.

“(This money and time) would have been better spent serving the electorate to strengthen the sense of legitimacy of the government in the eyes of Sarawakians,” he said.