KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri S Nallakaruppan, who is facing a RM60 million defamation suit by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, can question the former opposition leader’s character, the High Court ruled.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab said yesterday the defence could cross-examine Anwar on the grounds that the plaintiff (Anwar) had pleaded his good conduct in his statement of claim.

“To rebut that, the defence can question the plaintiff’s character during cross-examination,” he said in dismissing Anwar’s objection that his conduct could not be raised during trial.

Anwar’s lawyer Latheefa Koya applied for the trial to be adjourned, pending the outcome of her client’s appeal in the Court of Appeal.

The de facto PKR leader is scheduled to be cross-examined by lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is appearing for Nallakaruppan.

Mohd Zaki allowed her application, but fixed the case for mention on June 16 to update him on the appeal progress.

Latheefa said the notice of appeal will be filed in a day or two.

Anwar filed suit against Nallakaruppan in 2008, over alleged derogatory remarks in an article, “Anwar terima RM60 juta” (Anwar received RM60 million), which was published in the Mingguan Malaysia and Sinar Harian newspapers on Aug 23, 2008.

In his statement of claim, Anwar said the defamatory words implied that he is a person of low morals and that he is not a good Muslim, as the money was allegedly from gambling firm Magnum Corp.

On May 15, Mohd Zaki stopped Shafee from questioning Anwar’s character in a recent sodomy case, saying the conviction came after the defamation suit was filed against Nallakaruppan.

The judge said he needed lawyers to make submissions on the issue.

On May 21, Shafee told the court that Anwar’s conviction for corruption and sodomy could be relied on to state that the former opposition leader is not a good Muslim and of low morals.

He said the defence of justification is available for Nallakaruppan, Anwar’s former tennis partner, following rulings of two Federal Court benches.

Shafee said the defence would also depend on remarks made by a Federal Court judge that Anwar had homosexual tendencies, although he was acquitted in the first sodomy case in 2004.

On Aug 8, 2000, he was sentenced to nine years in jail for sodomy, but in September 2004, the Federal Court overturned the conviction and acquitted him.

Then Federal Court Judge Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad, who later became chief justice, said the sexual incident did occur, but there was doubt as to when it took place.

The former deputy prime minister, who was sacked from office in 1998, was charged with sodomising his family’s driver, Azizan Abu Bakar, at the Tivoli Villa in Kuala Lumpur in 1994.

Nallakaruppan is also relying on Anwar’s Feb 10 conviction for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan at a Bukit Damansara condominium, for which he is currently serving a five-year jail term.

Lawyer N Surendran submitted that the defence could only raise Anwar’s character when pleading to the court to allow a lower compensation, in the event Nallakaruppan is liable for defamation. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 28, 2015.