Mustapa's defamation suit against PAS goes to trial next month

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed's defamation case against PAS and four others will go for a full trial next month after failing to reach a settlement.

His lawyer C.K. Lew told reporters that the plaintiff and defendants could not agree on the costs and legal point.

"Therefore, there is no settlement. The court has fixed Nov 12 and 13 for the trial," he said after meeting High Court Judge Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin in chambers today.

On Sept 30, four defendants, PAS and its former secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali, and chief editor and editor of http:/harakahdaily.net, Zulkifli Sulong and Azmi Yusof had proposed to the court on the settlement.

Another defendant, former PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa Husam, had expressed his intention to meet with Mustapa to discuss on settling the case.

On April 22, 2013, Mustapa, who is also Kelantan Umno Liaison Committee chairman, filed the lawsuit alleging that Husam had slandered him during a political speech at the Machang Expo site in Kelantan on March 23, 2013.

The alleged slander was in regards to Felda Global Ventures Holdings Berhad (FGVH) shares.

The plaintiff, who is the Member of Parliament for Jeli, claimed that on March 24, 2013, PAS and the other defendants had published Husam's alleged slander on harakahdaily.net., which is accessible by millions of website users.

Mustapa claimed the statement meant that he was a corrupt leader and politician, had no credibility and abused his power for his and UMNO members' interest.