Harakahdaily rejects offer to settle Najib’s defamation suit

PUTRAJAYA: PAS mouthpiece Harakahdaily has rejected an offer for settlement of the defamation suit filed against it by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Najib’s counsel Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, when contacted, confirmed having received a letter from Harakahdaily last Thursday notifying that it was rejecting the proposal to settle the suit.

“But to say the case would go for trial is too early because there are two related appeals pending in the Court of Appeal,” he said.

He said the matter was due for case management yesterday but was rescheduled to Dec 1 because Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif was presiding over a court panel in Kuching.

Lawyer Wan Rohimi Wan Daud, representing Harakah managing director Dr Rosli Yaakob and Harakahdaily chief editor Taufek Yahya, said his clients would want the matter to go for full trial.

“PAS has rejected the offer for a settlement,” he said.

Wan Rohimi also confirmed that he received a fax from the Court of Appeal registry last week notifying that the case management scheduled for today had been rescheduled to Dec 1.

“On Dec 1, we will inform the court that our client has rejected the offer to settle and the court would set another date for hearing of the appeals.”

He said that they had notified Najib’s lawyer of their decision.

One of the appeals is on the High Court dismissal on April 7 this year of Najib’s application to amend his statement of claim to include statements by AttorneyGeneral Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali and the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission.

The other is against the High Court dismissal on May 23 this year of Najib’s application for the suit to be decided on points of law without going for full trial.

The prime minister is suing Dr Rosli and Taufek over an alleged defamatory article written by Rosli and published on Feb 19, 2015.

In June this year, Najib and Harakahdaily indicated that they were exploring the possibility of settling the lawsuit. — Bernama