KUALA LUMPUR (April 9): The High Court here is scheduled to begin the hearing of a defamation suit filed by Deputy Defence Minister Senator Liew Chin Tong against Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) president Datuk Azwanddin Hamzah, over the publication of two articles on social media in relation to the communist uniform issue on Sept 23.

High Court Judge Datuk Azimah Omar fixed three days of hearing beginning Sept 23 for the case, and also ordered the case to be called for case management on July 8.

Liew filed the suit through the legal firm of Messr Karpal Singh & Co at the High Court registry here last Dec 27.

DAP Legal Bureau chairman Ramkarpal Singh, in a statement that he issued, said Azwanddin was being sued for a Facebook post in which the latter alleged that the deputy minister intentionally wore a "Communist uniform" to a military event.

Azwanddin was alleged to have uploaded an image and captioned it with the remark last Oct 30.

It was also over an article written by Azwanddin on JMM's website last Nov 19, with the title "Kementerian Pertahanan Kini Berada Dalam Tekanan Dan Ancaman" (The Defence Ministry is under pressure and threat).

Liew is seeking RM20 million in general and exemplary damages, as well as an injunction restraining Azwanddin from publishing similar articles.

Vince Tan Hoo Seh appeared on behalf of Liew, and Sarah Abishegam represented Azwanddin today.