Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka) founder Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil is seeking to transfer the Pahang state government’s defamation suit against her to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Her lawyer Rajesvaran Nagarajan said that the application to transfer it from the Temerloh High Court was taking place, as per Order 57 of the Rules of Court 2012.
“The material facts happened whilst my client was in Kuala Lumpur - hence why this dispute should be heard by the Kuala Lumpur High Court,” he told Malaysiakini.
With regard to the main suit, all cause papers have been filed and parties are awaiting pre-trial directions from the court, he added.
“An application to transfer proceedings from the High Court of Temerloh has been filed.
“All affidavits have been exhausted and parties are awaiting further directions from the honourable court with regard to the submissions and the hearing date,” Rajesvaran said.
According to the lawyer, the main suit is set to proceed after the transfer application is heard and disposed of, with the next case management session fixed for July 19 via e-review.
When asked, he said his client has not filed a counterclaim against the state government.
On June 18, the Pahang government sued Shariffa (above) for defamation over three statements on logging activities in the state.
Statements on FB, newspaper interview
Previously, the Pahang government issued a letter of demand for the president of the environmental group to pay RM1 million in compensation and make an apology over her comments carried on her Facebook and an interview with a local daily.
Under the law, a civil action could be mounted in court if the receiver of the legal letter allegedly fails to abide by its demands.
According to a copy of the cause papers sighted by Malaysiakini, the civil suit was filed at the Temerloh High Court on April 7.
The Pahang government claimed that Sabrina made allegedly defamatory statements on her Facebook on Dec 29 and 30 last year, as well as during an interview with Sinar Harian on Jan 12. - Mkini
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