Court sets Jan 17 to hear Tony Pua’s application to strike out Najib’s suit

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here set Jan 17 next year to hear Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua Kiam Wee’s application to strike out the defamation suit filed against him by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over a remark about 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Najib, in his personal capacity, filed the suit on March 5 this year and named Pua, 43 and Chan Chee Kong, 52, owner of online portal Mediarakyat.net, as the first and second defendants.

Counsel Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi representing Pua said this to reporters after the case was mention before Judicial Commissioner Datuk Roslan Abu Bakar in chambers yesterday. Najib’s lawyer Nik Alia Hanafi confirmed the matter.

In his statement of claim, Najib said that on Nov 13 last year, Pua, as the main speaker at a DAP fund- raising dinner, had made what he alleged was a libellous remark about 1MDB.

He said a recording of the speech was uploaded by Chan himself and/or his agents on the Mediarakyat YouTube and Mediarakyat website under what he claimed was a libellous heading.

Najib said the recording of the speech contained words that referred to and related to him and defamed him and the individual known as the ‘prime minister’ and must have referred specifically to him ( Najib).

He said the publication of the defamatorywordshaddamagedhis reputation, which would continue for years because the recording of the speech could be accessed widely and easily throughout the world via the Internet, blogs, forums and websites without any restriction and could be reshared. — Bernama