KUALA LUMPUR: The defamation suit filed by Petaling Jaya Utara Member of Parliament (MP) Tony Pua Kiam Wee against Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad and
another party over the publication of an article was settled yesterday.
High Court Judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad recorded the settlements in an open court here after all parties told the court that they agreed to settle the case.
She struck out the suit and thanked the parties involved for resolving the matter through mediation. Pua, represented by lawyer Alliff Benjamin (rpt:Alliff Benjamin) told the court that all parties agreed to resolve the matter amicably.
Ahmad Zahid told the court that he retracted the statement that he had made to the Utusan in respect of Pua.
Utusan and its group editor-in-chief, Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak, represented by the company’s legal advisor, Shirad Anuar, also said they would retract the offending article.
On Dec 9 last year, Pua filed the suit and named Ahmad Zahid, who was Defence Minister at the time, Utusan Melayu and Abdul Aziz as defendants.
In his statement of claim, Pua alleged that Ahmad Zahid was responsible for the publication of the article ‘Tony Pernah Ditahan di Singapura’ (Tony Has Been Arrested in Singapore) and the other defendants had failed to investigate its accuracy before printing it on March 18, 2011. — Bernama