May 23 decision on Najib’s application over suit against Harakah and Harakahdaily over 1MDB

0

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has set May 23 to decide on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s application to dispose of his suit against Harakah and Harakahdaily over 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), by way of point of law without a full trial.

Judge Datuk Hue Siew Kheng fixed the date in chambers yesterday after hearing submissions by Najib’s lead counsel, Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, and lawyer Wan Rohimi Wan Daud who represented the two defendants, Harakah managing director Dr Rosli Yaakop and Harakahdaily chief editor Taufek Yahya.

Speaking to reporters, Mohd Hafarizam said he argued that the lawsuit could be determined based on point of law.

He said Harakah’s lawyer submitted that all these facts needed to be ventilated in a trial.

Najib filed the suit on March 18 last year against Rosli and Taufek for publishing an allegedly defamatory article on 1MDB written by Rosli on Feb 19 last year.

In his statement of claim, the prime minister had said the article portrayed him as having misused 1MDB funds and that the publication of the article was intended to tarnish his reputation.

He also alleged that Taufek failed to practise responsible journalism and did not verify whether the contents in Rosli’s article were accurate before publishing it. Najib contended that the defendants had intentionally published the article with a personal agenda to undermine the people’s confidence in him. — Bernama