PM Najib accepts Nizar's apology

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that he accepted former Menteri Besar of Perak Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin's apology for making defamatory statements against him.

"I accept Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin's apology for defaming me. Islam teaches us not to defame (anyone) or spread lies," he posted on Facebook and Twitter Thursday.

Yesterday, Mohammad Nizar, who was charged with defaming Najib, was acquitted and discharged by the Sessions Court in Ipoh, Perak, after he gave an open apology to the prime minister.

Judge Ikmal Hishan Mohd Tajuddin made the decision after Head of the Perak State Prosecution Unit Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim informed that the prime minister had agreed that the case be compounded under Section 260 of the Criminal Procedure Code .

Mohammad Nizar, 58, whose address was in Sungai Rokam, Ipoh, was charged with defaming Najib in a speech given in public at Taman Desa Pakatan, Ipoh, between 9 pm and midnight on April 23, 2012.

The former Perak PAS deputy commissioner was allegedly aware that the contents of the speech transcript in Appendix A, which was attached to the charge sheet, would damage Najib's good name.