Najib is open to an apology from Pua, says lawyer

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has indicated through his lawyers that he is prepared to accept an apology from Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua for alleging that the tabling of the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355) was to divert attention from 1MDB.

Najib's lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun told reporters today that his client is open to accepting an apology from the federal lawmaker.

“He is open-minded and would accept an 'I am sorry Mr Prime Minister'," he told reporters after the case management before High Court judge Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab in Kuala Lumpur.

Hafarizam admitted that the stumbling block to the matter would be the 1MDB issue, especially on the allegation made by Pua that his client took 1MDB money, which he said his client had been cleared by the authorities.

Najib had filed a defamation suit, the second against Pua, for making the allegation.

In a live Facebook session last April, Pua was said to have implied that Najib abused his powers as prime minister by directing the cabinet, through the Dewan Rakyat speaker, to allow tabling the amendments to Act 355 by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to divert attention away from the 1MDB issue.

Najib also claimed that Pua's impugned words implied that he had conspired with PAS to split Malay votes among the opposition, and practised dirty politics to remain in power.

He further complained that the words uttered meant that he had robbed 1MDB funds, would continue to commit criminal acts to steal from the people, and that he had betrayed Malaysians.

In his defence, Pua highlighted the various purported questionable transactions made by 1MDB into Najib's accounts and denied that the words he uttered regarding this were defamatory.

He further pleaded fair comment, qualified privilege and justification as the purported impugned words were comments on matters of public interest.

The lawmaker clarified that what he meant during the Facebook live session was that the public should not be distracted by the tabling of Act 355 and forget that Najib and his administration have exploited national resources for their own personal benefit, and hence, he and his government ought to be removed in the next general election.

The Umno president had already obtained an injunction against Pua last month from repeating such a statement.

Pua's lawyers have indicated that they had also applied to strike out Najib's suit, as the prime minister has no legal standing to initiate the suit.

Meanwhile, Hafarizam said Justice Zaki today directed both parties to arrange their pleadings and defence based on agreed and disputed facts so that the matter could proceed smoothly when the trial convenes.

“The judge has asked me and counsel Gobind (Singh Deo) to sit down and sort out and analyse, based on the pleadings and defence, as to what are the agreed and disputed facts,” he added.

Today, Pua was represented by lawyer Tan Cheng Leung. 

Hafarizam added that even after the parties have identified the agreed and disputed facts, they can still come to a settlement. Justice Zaki then fixed Oct 13 for another case management.

Besides this suit, Najib also filed another suit two years ago against Pua and Media Rakyat owner Chan Chee Kong on the 1MDB issue, while the lawmaker filed a misfeasance in public office suit against the prime minister.  - Mkini