KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The Malaysian High Court has awarded RM1 million (S$336,930) in damages to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar in her defamation suit against former Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar and Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Judicial Commissioner Faizah Jamaludin ordered Khalid to pay RM400,000 while Ismail Sabri, the MP for Bera, was directed to pay RM600,000.

Faizah ruled that both were found liable in defaming Nurul Izzah, the Lembah Pantai MP and daughter of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, as they failed to check with her before issuing the statements linking her with a controversial personality from the Philippines. She ordered Khalid and Ismail Sabri to pay RM80,000 in costs.

Nurul Izzah sued Khalid and Ismail Sabri for implying that she had committed treason for meeting Jacel Kiram - the daughter of Jamalul Kiram III who claimed to be the Sultan of Sulu and is said to have led the intrusion into Lahad Datu in Sabah in 2013.

Jacel Kiram was her clan's chief spokesman during the invasion, which left nine members of the Malaysian security forces dead.

In her suit, Nurul Izzah said Khalid had uttered slanderous words against her during a press conference on Nov 22, 2015, at the Bukit Aman police headquarters. She said Ismail Sabri had also issued a libellous media statement against her on the same day during an event in Pahang.

She alleged that the statements were issued days after her photograph with Jacel Kiram was published by the media.