KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is suing PAS organ Harakahdaily for defamation over an article linking the prime minister’s stepson to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) fund, has applied to strike out the publication’s defence on grounds that it is not relevant.
Lawyer Mohamed Hanipa Mydin said Najib’s legal team, in an attempt to get the suit dismissed, contended that the defendants — Harakahdaily portal chief editor Taufek Yahya and Harakah managing director Dr Rosli Yaakob — could not rely on the defence of fair comment and qualified privilege.
“They are of the view both are [English] common law defences and these are not provided under the (Malaysian) Defamation Act,” he said.
Mohamed Hanipa, who is representing Taufek, said he would rebut Najib’s argument.
Case management was held last Friday before High Court judge Datuk Hue Siew Kheng who instructed Mohamed Hanipa and lawyer Faiz Fadzil Noor, representing Rosli, to file affidavits by July 1 to rebut Najib’s striking out application.
The court will hear Najib’s application on July 13. Hue has also tentatively fixed the trial to be heard for seven days from Oct 7.
Najib filed the suit against Rosli and Taufek over an article by Rosli on Feb 19 with the heading “Dana 1MDB biayai syarikat filem Riza Aziz? (Bhg 2)”.
In his statement of claim filed on March 18, Najib said the article contained words which implied that he had misused 1MDB funds.
Najib alleged that the publication of the article had damaged his reputation and caused him to be condemned in social media and the mass media. He also alleged that Taufek had failed to practise responsible journalism by not verifying the authenticity of the article before publishing it.
Najib has filed a similar suit against Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament Tony Pua over comments the lawmaker had allegedly made on the strategic investment fund.
Pua has filed his defence, citing, among others, that as a lawmaker he has a duty as the people’s representative to raise issues of public interest. — The Malaysian Insider
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 30, 2015.