Siti Mastura Muhammad

Summary

Dr. Siti Mastura binti Muhammad (born 27 August 1989) is the PAS Member of Parliament for Kepala Batas, Penang, elected in the 15th General Election in November 2022, breaking BN's hold on the seat since 1974. A PhD holder from Universiti Sains Malaysia, she serves as deputy head of the Penang State PAS Muslimat Council and has raised healthcare staffing issues in Parliament on behalf of her constituents. Her first term has been defined in part by a concluded defamation case arising from statements made at a political ceramah, with both the Penang High Court (December 2024) and the Court of Appeal (April 2026) ruling against her and upholding damages totalling RM825,000.

Biography

Dr. Siti Mastura binti Muhammad (born 27 August 1989) is a Malaysian politician and the Member of Parliament for Kepala Batas, Penang, serving since November 2022 [1]. She represents Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition. At the party grassroots level, she holds the position of deputy head of the Penang State PAS Muslimat Council [1]. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) [2]. Siti Mastura was elected to Parliament in the 15th General Election (GE15) on 19 November 2022, defeating two-term incumbent and former minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican (BN/Umno) with a majority of 2,867 votes, with Siti Mastura obtaining 28,604 votes [2]. This result ended Barisan Nasional's hold on the Kepala Batas seat for the first time since the constituency's creation in 1974 [2]. In Parliament, she raised constituency-level healthcare concerns, including a severe shortage of medical assistants at Kepala Batas Hospital [3]. She previously contested the Kepala Batas seat in the 14th General Election (GE14) under PAS but was defeated by the BN incumbent [4]. In December 2024, the Penang High Court found her liable for defamation following statements she made at a ceramah during the Kemaman by-election campaign, and the Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal in April 2026 [5].

Known for

Siti Mastura is known as the first opposition MP to unseat BN from the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat since its creation in 1974, defeating a two-term incumbent minister in GE15 [2]. She is also known for raising healthcare infrastructure shortfalls in her constituency in Parliament, notably the staffing crisis at Kepala Batas Hospital [3]. Her tenure has been marked by a concluded defamation case arising from claims she made at a political ceramah in November 2023, upheld against her at both the High Court and Court of Appeal levels [5].

Political positions

As a PAS MP operating within the Perikatan Nasional bloc, Siti Mastura's parliamentary interventions on record include advocacy for improved public healthcare staffing in her constituency. In March 2023, she raised in the Dewan Rakyat that Kepala Batas Hospital — serving the entire northern Seberang Perai region — was operating well below the recommended staffing complement of 60 medical assistant officers, resulting in zone closures and staff working double shifts up to four times a week [3]. During the same period, FMT reported that she also raised claims in Parliament regarding undocumented immigrants, though those figures were later disputed and acknowledged as erroneous by the then-Home Minister [2]. No independently sourced formal policy positions on other legislative areas have been identified from the allowlist.

Education

1. Prior to 2022Obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).⛓

Political career

1. 2018Contested the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat under PAS in the 14th General Election (GE14) but was defeated by the BN incumbent Reezal Merican Naina Merican.⛓
2. 19 November 2022Won the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat (P041) in GE15 under PAS/Perikatan Nasional, defeating two-term incumbent and former minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican (BN) by a majority of 2,867 votes, ending BN's hold on the seat since 1974.⛓
3. 6 March 2023Raised in the Dewan Rakyat the critical shortage of medical assistant officers at Kepala Batas Hospital, revealing zone closures in the emergency department and staff working excessive double shifts.⛓
4. 4 November 2023Made statements at a ceramah during the Kemaman by-election campaign that linked DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Teresa Kok to Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew; the statements subsequently led to defamation suits.⛓
5. 27 November 2023Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, and Teresa Kok filed separate defamation suits against Siti Mastura at the Georgetown High Court over her November 4 ceramah statements.⛓
6. 4 December 2024Penang High Court ruled her statements defamatory and made with malice; ordered to pay total damages of RM750,000 and costs of RM25,000 per plaintiff, plus an injunction restraining her from repeating similar statements.⛓
7. 23 January 2025Paid RM830,034.75 (inclusive of interest) into the plaintiffs' law firm account pending her appeal to the Court of Appeal.⛓
8. 24 April 2026Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed her appeal, affirming the High Court judgment in full, including RM825,000 in damages and costs payable to Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, and Teresa Kok.⛓

Election history

• 2022Kepala Batas (P041)Won⛓
• 2018Kepala Batas (P041)Lost⛓

Perspectives on key issues

• VerifiedFactsSiti Mastura was elected MP for Kepala Batas on 19 November 2022 with a majority of 2,867 votes under the PAS/PN banner, ending BN's 48-year hold on the seat. She holds a PhD from USM and is deputy head of the Penang State PAS Muslimat Council. The defamation case brought against her by Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Teresa Kok is fully concluded: the Penang High Court (Dec 2024) and Court of Appeal (Apr 2026) ruled against her, with damages totalling RM825,000 upheld.⛓
• OppositionAccording to The Edge Malaysia, the Court of Appeal found that Siti Mastura's defences of fair comment, justification, and qualified privilege all failed, and that her reliance on an unauthored BN guidebook — without verification or seeking the plaintiffs' response — was insufficient to establish honest belief in the truth of her statements.⛓
• GovernmentBernama reported that the Court of Appeal, in dismissing Siti Mastura's appeal, affirmed that labelling a person as affiliated with a banned Communist Party is "undeniably defamatory" in the context of Malaysian society, and that Siti Mastura did not take appropriate steps to verify the accuracy of the statements before publication.⛓
• ExpertFMT reported that Malaysia's then-Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin referenced the controversy sparked by Siti Mastura when announcing plans for more stringent conditions on PhD candidates, noting it was "very unfortunate, especially when it involves graduates from renowned universities like Universiti Sains Malaysia."⛓
• AffectedCodeBlue reported that healthcare workers at Kepala Batas Hospital were working double shifts up to four times a week due to the staffing shortfall raised by Siti Mastura in Parliament, with the emergency department's screening zone closed and critical zones operating with only one medical assistant.⛓

Notable legal history

In November 2023, three DAP leaders — Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, and Teresa Kok — filed separate defamation suits against Siti Mastura in the Georgetown High Court over statements she made at a ceramah during the Kemaman by-election campaign on 4 November 2023, in which she linked the plaintiffs to Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng and Singapore's late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (Source: theedgemalaysia.com/node/691900). On 4 December 2024, Penang High Court Judge Datuk Quay Chew Soon ruled that Siti Mastura's statements were defamatory and made with malice, rejecting her defences of fair comment, justification, and qualified privilege, and awarded global damages of RM300,000 to Kit Siang, RM250,000 to Guan Eng, and RM200,000 to Kok, plus RM25,000 costs to each plaintiff and an injunction restraining her from repeating similar statements (Source: bernama.com/en/crime_courts/news.php?id=2548751; malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/01/23/kepala-batas-mp-siti-mastura-pays-rm830000-to-daps-lim-kit-siang-lim-guan-eng-and-teresa-kok-pending-appeal-of-case/164292). Siti Mastura filed an appeal and paid RM830,034.75 (inclusive of interest) to the plaintiffs' law firm on 23 January 2025, pending the appeal (Source: malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2025/01/23/kepala-batas-mp-siti-mastura-pays-rm830000-to-daps-lim-kit-siang-lim-guan-eng-and-teresa-kok-pending-appeal-of-case/164292). On 24 April 2026, a three-member Court of Appeal bench unanimously dismissed her appeal, affirming the entirety of the High Court judgment including the damages and costs totalling RM825,000 (Source: bernama.com/en/crime_courts/news.php?id=2548751; theedgemalaysia.com/node/801122). The case is fully concluded at the Court of Appeal level.