Court to hear on Jan 13 application by Najib, Rosmah over oil subsidy suit

The High Court today set Jan 13 next year to hear an application by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor to remove several paragraphs in the statement of defence of PKR vice-president Mohd Rafizi Ramli and another person in their defamation suit over the issue of oil subsidy.

Senior assistant registrar Nurdiana Mohd Nazari set the date in chambers in the presence of lawyer Choo Shi Jin, who represented Najib and Rosmah.

Also present were lawyer Joanne Leong, who appeared for 'Media Rakyat' portal owner Chan Chee Kong, the other defendant in the suit, and stood in for Mohd Rafizi's lawyer.

Najib and Rosmah had applied to cancel several paragraphs in the statement of defence, stating that the argument of the defendants was not fair comment.

They had filed the suit on April 16, claiming that Mohd Rafizi had made a disparaging statement against them at a forum on oil subsidy in Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, on Nov 22 last year.

They alleged that Mohd Rafizi's speech was recorded by Media Rakyat and uploaded by Chan or his assistant on YouTube and the portal.

They further alleged that Chan had also shared the recording in Media Rakyat's Facebook account which could be freely accessed by Internet users worldwide.

They said Chan failed to practise responsible journalism by not verifying or investigating the authenticity of the accusations in the statement before posting them.

Najib and Rosmah are seeking, among others, general, aggravated and exemplary damages deemed fit by the court, interest and costs.