KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 – The application by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to expunge certain parts of the affidavit filed by Petaling Jaya Utara Member of Parliament Tony Pua Kiam Wee, over a defamation suit in connection with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), will be heard on Jan 18 next year.
High Court judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera fixed the date in chambers on yesterday after meeting counsel Choo Shin Jin, representing the prime minister and counsel Aliff Benjamin Suhaimi representing Pua. The Court will also hear Pua’s application, as the first defendant, to strike out Najib’s suit against him, on the same date (Jan 18).
Also present was counsel Shahid Adli Kamaruddin representing Mediarakyat.net portal owner, Chan Chee Kong, who was named as the second defendant in the defamation suit. Choo, when met, told reporters that the Court had also set Jan 29 next year to hear Najib’s application to expunge some parts of Chan’s defence statement. In his statement of claim, Najib alleged that on Nov 13 last year, Pua, as the main speaker at a DAP fundraising dinner had issued defamatory statements on 1MDB.
Najib said a recording of the speech was uploaded by Chan himself and/or his agents on YouTube and Mediarakyat website under what he claimed was a libellous heading. he said the recording of the speech contained defamatory words which were referred and related to him and the individual known as the “prime minister” must have referred specifically to him.
Najib claimed that Pua’s speech, among others, meant that he had robbed the people of their money with regard to 1MDB transactions and, as such, he was not a trustworthy person and unfit to hold public office. He said the publication of Pua’s speech had damaged his reputation, as it could be accessed and shared widely and easily throughout the world via the internet, blogs, forums and websites.
