‘TOO MUCH TOO HIDE’ NAJIB CHICKENS OUT? 1MDB SUIT AGAINST TONY PUA DEFERRED ‘INDEFINITELY’

KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Najib Razak’s defamation suit hearing against Tony Pua and an online news portal owner over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) issue has been vacated indefinitely.

Najib’s lawyer Mohamed Hafarizam Harun said both parties had agreed to wait for a ruling by the Federal Court in the cases of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen.

He said both cases would determine if a public official had the legal standing to file a defamation suit.

“These cases will decide whether a chief minister can sue in his personal capacity for defamation,” he told reporters after case management before Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim.

He said Ahmad Zaidi had fixed Aug 21 for another case management.

Lim’s defamation appeal against two Umno-linked media groups and three others has been fixed for case management before the apex court on July 6.

His lawyer Americk Sidhu said a leave to appeal application could not be heard soon as the Court of Appeal had yet to prepare its written grounds on Lim’s case.

In Chong’s case, the Federal Court on May 15 heard his appeal against a Court of Appeal ruling last year that the Government of Sarawak and the State Financial Authority could sue the assemblyman for defamation.

Chong argued that based upon the principles of common law, a public body such as a government could not initiate an action for defamation against him.

He said it would be against the constitutional safeguard for freedom of speech and expression if the government were to be allowed to sue an elected representative for defamation.

In response to the suit filed by Najib, Pua applied to strike it out on grounds that Najib had no legal standing to sue for defamation as he was a public officer.
In his civil claim seeking damages and an apology, Najib said Pua had delivered a speech at a DAP fund-raising dinner on Nov 3, 2014, relating to 1MDB which slandered him.

Najib said the video footage of the speech was then uploaded by Media Rakyat owner Chan Chee Kong or his agents onto the portal’s webpage, YouTube channel, and shared on its Facebook page.

Najib said Pua, who is also DAP national publicity secretary, had also re-published it on his own Facebook page.

On March 5, 2015, Najib, who sued in his personal capacity, said the words implied that he had abused his power as the chairman of the Board of Advisers of 1MDB for his personal gain, was not trustworthy and unfit to hold public office.

Najib has filed two suits against Pua – another over the uploading of a video in relation to the shariah court amendments bill – while the opposition MP has filed one against the prime minister.

– FMT