KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary-general Kenny Goh and former national singles player Roslin Hashim have settled a defamation lawsuit without going through a trial in the High Court.
The settlement terms saw Roslin, 48, read out an open apology to Goh before judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain.
The statement saw Roslin apologise unconditionally to Goh for defamatory remarks made during a live stream over Facebook on Jan 19 last year.
“I regret that my statement has defamed (him) and hurt his reputation, especially among the local badminton fans. My harsh remarks were baseless and should not have been made,” Roslin said.
Roz Mawar recorded the out-of-court settlement following the tender of the apology.
The judge said she hoped the duo would repair their personal and professional relationships.
Lawyer Jahabardeen Yunoos, who appeared for Goh, earlier told the court that the parties had reached an amicable settlement and that Roslin had also agreed to publish his apology in four different newspapers.
Roslin’s lawyer, Haijan Omar, said the remaining terms of settlement agreed upon were to remain confidential.
Roz Mawar had earlier fixed a two-day trial to begin yesterday but parties requested that the matter be called up today as they were in the midst of ironing out the terms of settlement.
Outside court, Goh told reporters that he accepted the apology and will move on from the episode.
He said the case also has no bearing on Roslin’s position on the BAM technical advisory panel (TAP).
“Roslin’s appointment to TAP was made by the BAM council. It has nothing to do with this case,” Goh said.
Roslin said he was relieved the matter had come to a logical conclusion, adding that he had drawn a lesson from the incident.