PETALING JAYA: Former chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Abu Kassim Mohamed and retired solicitor-general Zauyah T Loth Khan are among 11 witnesses who will testify for former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali, in his defamation suit against DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang.
Apandi’s lawyer M Visvanathan said the two were called as Abu Kassim was involved in the investigation while Zauyah was one of the prosecutors who went through the investigation papers into 1MDB in 2015.
“Apandi will be the first to take the witness stand followed by others,” he told FMT.
Earlier today, judge Azimah Omar fixed five days from Sept 28 for the trial, with a final case management to be held on April 2.
Apandi filed the suit against Lim in July last year over an article claiming that he had abetted in the 1MDB scandal.
Apandi, who was the attorney-general from July 2015 until May 2018, said Lim had written a defamatory statement published by news portal Malaysiakini on May 6, 2019, titled “Dangerous fallacy to think Malaysia is on the road to integrity”.
He said the article implied that he had depicted him as someone who is immoral and unethical, without integrity, and practised double standards while holding the position of AG.
The article was also republished and shared on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and other forms of social media, said Apandi.
He is seeking RM10 million in general damages and further compensation for aggravated and exemplary damages, inclusive of 5% interest.
In January 2016, Apandi cleared then-prime minister Najib Razak of wrongdoing in the 1MDB and SRC International cases due to a lack of evidence.
He had said the RM2.6 billion found in Najib’s account was a donation from Arab royalty.
In July 2018, Najib was charged with money laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in the two cases and the trials are on-going, some three months after his fall from power in the May general election. - FMT
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