Court dismisses Rewcastle-Brown's bid to stay hearing of Sultanah Nur Zahirah's suit

KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown failed in her bid to stay the hearing of a suit filed by the Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah, over an allegedly defamatory statement in the book, "The Sarawak Report - The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose".

Lawyer Datuk Mohd Haaziq Pillay, who is representing Sultanah Nur Zahirah, said Judicial Commissioner of High Court Dr John Lee Kien How @ Mohd Johan Lee dismissed Rewcastle-Brown's application with costs of RM5,000.

"The court set April 4 for next case management to fix trial dates," the lawyer said when contacted by reporters after today's proceedings via Zoom.

Meanwhile, Rewcastle-Brown's counsel Mervyn Lai said the court rejected his client's application after finding the application would deprive the plaintiff (Sultanah Nur Zahirah) of having her case heard and decided.

According to the lawyer, the court also held that there were no special circumstances justifying a stay and a key issue is that the criminal matter was still at the commencement stage and it is not known how long it will take.

Based on the notice of application filed through Messrs Tommy Thomas on Dec 13, 2021, Rewcastle-Brown applied for an order to stay the hearing of the suit, pending the disposal of a criminal case faced by her in the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate's Court.

She filed the application on grounds that there were similarities in the issues and facts regarding the two cases as these were related to the publication of the book "The Sarawak Report - The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose".

Sultanah Nur Zahirah filed the suit on Nov 21, 2018, naming Rewcastle-Brown, Gerakbudaya Enterprise publisher Chong Ton Sin and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd as the first to the third defendants.

Sultanah Nur Zahirah claimed that the said statement, among others, meant that she was involved in corruption and interfering in the administration of the Terengganu government, besides using her status to influence the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), later known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Sultanah Nur Zahirah contended that the statement meant that she had helped fugitive businessman Jho Low or Low Taek Jho to become a TIA adviser.

The Sultanah is claiming general damages of RM100 million from each defendant and is also seeking an order for the publisher to withdraw the book containing the defamatory statement and for the printer to stop printing the book.

In their defence statements, the three defendants denied making allegations that the plaintiff was involved in corrupt practices.

Rewcastle-Brown also claimed that Sarawak Report had never suggested that the plaintiff was involved in a conspiracy involving Jho Low and had also never suggested that the plaintiff was involved in the government's administration related to 1MDB affairs.

-- BERNAMA