Kedah MB given until Feb 13 to file defence statement over suit filed by Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: The Alor Setar High Court today ordered Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to file his defence statement in a defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim the latest by this Feb 13.

The suit was over a speech by Muhammad Sanusi during a 'PN Best Tambun Tour' campaign which allegedly linked the Pakatan Harapan chairman with immoral behavior.

Lawyer Datuk S. N. Nair, representing Anwar, said the court also ordered his client to file the reply to the defence statement by March 13.

"Further case management is set for March 20," he told Bernama after the online case management before Senior Assistant Registrar V. K Neethiya Nair today.

The proceedings were also joined by lawyers Jaden Phoon Wai Ken and Wong Guo Jin, who also represented Anwar, and lawyer Adam Luqman Amdan, who acted on behalf of Muhammad Sanusi

Anwar, 75, filed the suit last Dec 13, Muhammad Sanusi, 48, as the sole defendant.

In his statement of claim, Anwar stated that on Nov 13, 2022, Muhammad Sanusi, who is also Kedah Perikatan National (PN) chairman, gave a speech at a talk in support of the PN candidate for the Tambun parliamentary seat, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, with hundreds of visitors in attendance.

Anwar said the speech in the talk had been published or caused to be republished and broadcast live on Facebook under the name "Faizal Azumu" which received more than 88,000 views, 531 reactions, 58 shares and 384 comments, as of the date of filing the suit.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman claimed that on Nov 14, defamatory statements from the video were quoted by MalaysiaKini and the portal published an article in Bahasa Malaysia and English.

Anwar said the speech was published or caused to be republished and broadcasted live on the Facebook application under the name "Faizal Azumu" which received more than 88,000 views, 531 reactions, 58 shares and 384 comments, as of the date the suit was filed.

According to the PKR president, on 14 Nov, 2022, the defamatory statements from the video were quoted by MalaysiaKini and the portal published an article in Bahasa Malaysia and English.

Anwar claimed that the slanderous statements meant that he had obtained a royal pardon through fraud and remained unforgiven and.

He said it also meant that he is a liar, untrustworthy, unethical and betrayed the people's mandate.

He claimed the statements were made with malicious intent aimed at inciting the public and creating personal hatred towards him and PH during the campaign period for the 15th General Election (GE15) which was held on Nov 19 last year.

The Tambun Member of Parliament said the statement was untrue and that all the criminal charges he had previously faced were part of a political conspiracy designed to remove him from public office and ruin his political career.

-- BERNAMA