Khairy to testify first in Anwar's defamation suit against him

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin will testify first in a defamation suit against him brought by de facto Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar's lawyer, J. Leela told reporters that High Court Judicial Commissioner Azizul Azmi Adnan had granted Anwar's application to let Khairy, the defendant, to take the witness stand on the first day of the hearing.

The court set Sept 19 to hear Khairy's testimony.

Usually, the plaintiff who will testify first in a civil case.

Anwar, however, had applied for Khairy to testify and submit evidence first in relation to the alleged statement made against him for justification or conditional protection before the plaintiff would be called to rebut.

On March 7, 2008, Anwar filed a suit against Khairy and demanded RM100 million in damages, alleging that the then UMNO Youth vice-chief had uttered defamatory words against him in a 'ceramah' (speech) in Lembah Pantai on February 20, 2008.

Anwar claimed that the defamatory words and a video clip entitled 'Anwar and kin no threat' was posted on several websites, including Malaysiakini.

Khairy, in a defence statement filed on Oct 8, 2010, said he relied on the defence based on justification and conditional protection.