Text recovered by OCR from a scanned copy — section numbers and wording may be wrong. Check the official PDF on lom.agc.gov.my before citing.
s 17 Consolidation of actions for libel
(1) Upon an application by two or more defendants in actions in respect to the same or substantially the same libel brought by one and the same person the court or a Judge may make an order for the consolidation of such actions so that they shall be tried together.
(2) After any such order has been made and before the trial of the said actions the defendants in any new actions instituted in respect of the same or substantially the same libel shall also be entitled to be joined in a common action upon a joint application by such new defendants and the defendants in the action already consolidated.
(3) The court or a Judge may, in the case of the same or substantially the same libel published simultaneously in a number of newspapers or copied shortly after publication, give notice to the plaintiff in any action or actions arising out of such libels that a period stated in such notice will be allowed for the discovery of any further publications of such libel in order that the whole of the actions arising out of such libel may be tried together, and after such period has expired no further action shall be instituted in respect of the publication of such libel except for the recovery of special damages.
(4) In a consolidated action under this section the whole amount of the damages (if any) shall be assessed in one sum but a separate judgment shall be given in respect of each defendant in the same way as if the actions consolidated had been tried separately.
(5) The amount of damages so assessed as aforesaid shall be apportioned amongst those of the defendants against whom judgment shall have been given, and if costs are given to the plaintiff the court may make such order as it shall deem just apportioning the costs amongst such last-mentioned defendants.
Malay text (authoritative)
(1) Apabila permohonan dibuat oleh dua orang defendan atau lebih dalam tindakan berkenaan dengan Nibe yan anana aia seats oratga aia ra daiah sama. mahkamah atau Hakim boleh membuat suatu perintah bagi menyatukan tindakan-tindakan itu supaya ianya boleh dibicarakan bersama.
(2) Selepas mana-mana perintah sedemikian telah ıbuat dan sebelum perbicaraan tindakan-tındaka tersebut, defendan-defendan dalam mana-man tindakan baharu yang dimulakan berkenaan dengan libel yang sama atau secara substansialnya adalah sama hendaklah juga berhak supaya dicantumkan dalam satu tindakan bersama atas permohonan bercantum oleh defendan-defendan baharu tersebut dan defendandefendan dalam tindakan yang telah pun disatukan itu.
[S. 17-18]
(3) Mahkamah atau Hakim, dalam hal libel yang mengenai libel itu supaya keseluruhan tindakan yang berbangkit daripada libel itu boleh dibicarakan bersama, dan selepas habis tempoh sedemikian, tiada apa-apa tindakan selanjutnya boleh dimulakan berkenaan dengan penerbitan libel itu kecuali bagi mendapatkan ganti rugi khas.
(4) Dalam sesuatu tindakan yang disatukan di bawah seksyen ini, keseluruhan amaun ganti rugi (jika ada) hendaklah ditaksirkan dalam satu jumlah tetapi penghakiman berasingan hendaklah diberi berkenaan dengan tiap-tiap defendan dengan cara yang sama seolah-olah tindakan-tindakan yang disatukan itu telah dibicarakan berasingan.
(5) Amaun ganti rugi yang ditaksirkan sedemikian sebagaimana tersebut dahulu hendaklah diumpukkan di antara kalangan defendan-defendan yang terhadapnya penghakiman telah diberi dan jika kos diberi kepada plaintif, mahkamah boleh membuat apaapa perintah yang didapatinya saksama mengumpukkan kos di kalangan defendan-defendan yang terakhir disebut.
Text as at 1 January 2006 (LOM reprint); amendments made after that date may not be incorporated.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
