Najib drops suit against ‘Harakah’, HarakahDaily

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has withdrawn his defamation suit against Pas publications Harakah and HarakahDaily in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

Najib’s counsel, Nor Emelia Mohd Iszeham, said her client had withdrawn the suit with no liberty to file afresh.

Judge Datuk Hue Siew Kheng struck out the legal action when the case came up in chambers yesterday.

However, the terms of the withdrawal were undisclosed.

Counsel Wan Rohimi Wan Daud represented Harakah managing director Dr Rosli Yaakop and HarakahDaily chief editor Taufek Yahya, who were named as defendants in the suit.

Najib filed the suit on March 18, 2015, claiming that Rosli and Taufek had published a defamatory article on 1MDB written by Rosli on Feb 19, 2015.

Najib alleged that the article portrayed him as having misused 1MDB’s funds and that the publication of the article was intended to tarnish his reputation.

Najib contended that the defendants had intentionally published the article with a personal agenda to undermine the people’s confidence in him.

This was the third withdrawal of a lawsuit by the former premier in the past few weeks.

Najib withdrew his suit against former transport minister Tun Ling Liong Sik on May 22, Damansara member of parliament Tony Pua and MediaRakyat portal owner Chan Chee Kong on May 28, over the same issue.