Judge recuses self from hearing Abdul Azeez's appeal against Penang High Court's ruling

Justice Vazeer Alam, who chaired a three-member bench, said he decided to recuse himself from hearing the appeal as he had some connection with the parties involved when he was in practice.

"Thus, we adjourned today's hearing to another date which will be fixed later by the registrar," said the judge at the start of the proceeding, which was conducted virtually.

The other two judges on the bench were Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail and Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya.

Today, the court is scheduled to hear the Baling MP's appeal against the Penang High Court's decision, made on Nov 12, 2020, which dismissed his suit against the former Penang Chief Minister in connection with the construction of the Penang undersea tunnel project.

Counsel Datuk Porres Royan appeared for Abdul Azeez while Lim was represented by lawyer N.Mureli.

Abdul Azeez filed the suit in March 2018, claiming that Lim, who was then the Finance Minister, had issued defamatory statements during a press conference at the Penang Chief Minister's office on Feb 28, 2018, and during a Chinese New Year open house hosted by the Penang Development Corporation on the same day, connecting him ( Abdul Azeez) with a payment of RM3 million in consultation fee by the developer of the undersea tunnel project.

Abdul Azeez claimed the statements gained widespread coverage and were published on a number of websites, electronic news sites and local newspapers, and is thus seeking, among others, general and exemplary damages and other relief deemed fit by the court.

He also applied for an injunction to prevent the defendant from republishing the statements.