KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court yesterday dismissed an application by PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar to strike out a defamation suit filed by Jalur Tiga (Jati) president Hasan Ali over an allegation that he received aid from the government.
Lawyer Hasnal Rezua Merican, who represented Hasan, told the media that judge Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin ruled in his client’s favour on grounds that Hasan had cause of action against Mahfuz.
Hasnal said the court dismissed Mahfuz’s application with cost of RM2,000 and set Oct 28 to 30 to hear the suit.
On April 12, 2012, Hasan filed the suit, claiming that Mahfuz made the defamatory statement at a news conference on March 2 and was published by several newspapers and posted on news portals.
Hasan is seeking general damages, including exemplary damages for libel and an injunction to prevent Mahfuz from repeating the defamatory words in any medium.
Mahfuz filed the application to strike out the suit on grounds that the words he uttered at the news conference were not defamatory. — Bernama