Court Orders Rita Rudaini To File Defence In Defamation Suit

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- Actress Rita Rudaini has been ordered by the High Court to file her statement of defence in response to a defamation suit filed by two academics who head the Badan Pemuafakatan Pendidikan Mara Malaysia (Muafakat) of Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM) Sungai Besar in Sabak Bernam, Selangor

The suit was filed by Muafakat MRSM Sungai Besar president Prof Dr Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor and vice-president Dr Saidah Haris @ Harith over statements allegedly posted by Rita, whose full name is Rita Rudaini Mohammad @ Mokhtar.

Lawyer Datuk Adnan Seman, representing the two plaintiffs, told reporters that during today’s case management, High Court Judicial Commissioner Nixon Kennedy Kumbong directed Rita, as the defendant, to file her defence on or before April 6.

“The court has fixed April 13 for the next case management to update the status of the defence filing,” he said, adding that today’s proceedings were conducted by lawyer Haris Md Nor.

Meanwhile, lawyer Mohd Syakirin Syazwan Mohd Nayan, representing Rita, said the defence had filed a memorandum of appearance on March 9.

On Dec 6, 2025, the two plaintiffs filed the suit against Rita, alleging that she had posted several defamatory statements referring to them through her Instagram and WhatsApp accounts, particularly via the application’s status feature.

Among the statements were remarks related to the “prof kangkung” issue involving the Muafakat leaders.

The plaintiffs claim the statements were false and had caused serious damage to their reputation.

They also alleged that the statements were made with malicious intent to tarnish their reputation and were published recklessly without strong evidence.

-- BERNAMA