The Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday dismissed the application by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor to strike out parts of the defence by PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli and another, in the couple's defamation suit against them.
Najib and Rosmah had applied to strike out the fair comment defence by Rafizi and co-defendant Media Rakyat portal owner Chan Chee Kong.
Lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun, who is representing Najib and Rosmah, had previously argued that Rafizi's allegations related to the oil subsidy had been presented as facts in a forum in Nov 2014.
However, Chan's lawyer Razlan Hadri Zulkifli said that presiding judge Noraini Abdul Rahman had ruled that it was premature to determine whether Rafizi's allegations were fair comment or statement of fact.
Razlan added that the court said that such an issue can only be determined during the full hearing, which does not have a fixed date yet.
Meanwhile, Hafarizam said that he would seek instructions from his clients, whether to appeal the court's decision.
Najib and Rosmah had filed the suit on April 16 last year, claiming that Rafizi made disparaging statements against them at a forum on oil subsidy in Bandar Tun Razak, on Nov 22 2014.
They alleged that Rafizi’s speech was recorded by Media Rakyat and uploaded by Chan or his assistant on Media Rakyat’s YouTube channel and website.
The couple are seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages deemed fit by the court, as well as interest and costs.
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