[ad_1]
PUTRAJAYA (Bernama): The Court of Appeal postponed until March 24 of next year the hearing to hear the appeal of the Sarawak Report editor, Clare Rewcastle-Brown, and two other people against the decision of a High Court to exempt the Sultanah of Terengganu, Sultanah Nur Zahirah, of testifying in her libel suit against the former.
Rewcastle-Brown’s attorney, Americk Sidhu, said the hearing did not proceed today (November 26) and the court postponed it until March 24 of the next year.
Instead, a case management took place today with Deputy Registrar Mohd Khairi Haron.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah’s lawyer, Datuk Mohd Haaziq Pillay Abdullah, confirmed the new date for the appeal hearing.
On December 13 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed Sultanah Nur Zahirah’s application for the lawsuit to be resolved by Order 14A of the 2012 Court Rules by a determination on questions of law.
Following the court’s decision, Sultanah Nur Zahirah is exempt from testifying in the defamation lawsuit she filed in November 2018 against Rewcastle-Brown or Clare Louis Brown, Gerakbudaya Enterprise publisher Chong Ton Sin, and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd .
In her statement of claim, Sultanah Nur Zahirah alleged that Rewcastle-Brown made a derogatory statement about her in her book, The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of 1MDB Expose.
The Sultanah claimed that the statement could be interpreted to mean that she was involved in corrupt practices and interfered in the administration of the state, as well as using her status to influence the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), which later became 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Sultanah Nur Zahirah also alleged that the statement had interpreted that she had helped Jho Low or Low Taek Jho to become a TIA advisor.
He claimed that he had never been involved in the administration of Terengganu and the establishment of TIA and thus the statement had defamed and tarnished his reputation.
The Sultanah is claiming RM100,000 general damages from each defendant and is also seeking an order for the publisher to remove the book containing the defamatory statement and for the printer to stop printing the book. – Bernama
[ad_2]
