Defamation: Court denies Habibul’s bid to strike out Syed Saddiq’s counterclaim

The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court dismissed an application by a former adviser of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to strike out Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman’s counterclaim against him.

Judge Norakhmar Mohd Sani denied the bid by Habibul Rahman Kadir against the former youth and sports minister.

Plaintiff Habibul is suing defendant Syed Saddiq over an allegation of a conspiracy to weaken Bersatu. Syed Saddiq has a counterclaim against Habibul.

Contacted by Malaysiakini this afternoon, counsel Beatrice Chin Yuen Xin and Sakdiyah Saleh - acting for Syed Saddiq and Habibul respectively - confirmed the outcome of proceedings.

Chin said that the judge had, after considering the parties’ submissions and on a balance of probabilities, dismissed Habibul’s striking-out application and ordered the plaintiff to pay RM4,000 in costs to the defendant.

Both counsels also confirmed that the court advised both parties to consider mediation to try to resolve the legal action.

The legal action is set for case management on April 18.

Syed Saddiq: Suit to intimidate me

Through the counterclaim, Syed Saddiq claims that the civil suit against him was to intimidate him and to derive political advantage.

In a media statement on Oct 7, 2021, Habibul announced he would file a civil suit against the Muda founder over the allegation involving Bersatu, which is now part of the opposition. The suit was initially filed in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 16, 2021.

However, the legal action was later transferred to the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur.

Prior to setting up Muda, Syed Saddiq was among the founders of Bersatu, which is currently headed by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Habibul is suing Syed Saddiq over the latter’s remarks made at a press conference at the Seri Pacific Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 2, 2017.

During the press briefing then, Syed Saddiq claimed there was a conspiracy, backed by unnamed party leaders, to weaken Bersatu by “threatening or bribing” its leaders.

In a statement of defence filed on Dec 27, 2021, the defendant alleged that the defamation suit was baseless and an abuse of the court process.

Syed Saddiq contended, among others, that he never made defamatory statements against the plaintiff during the media briefing.

‘Lawsuit not filed immediately’

He also claimed that Habibul never suffered any damage to his reputation due to the alleged defamatory statement because the lawsuit was not filed immediately after the 2017 press conference.

Meanwhile, in a filed reply to the statement of defence and counterclaim, Habibul stated that Syed Saddiq’s statements during the press conference could be understood by the public to be referring to him (Habibul).

Through the filing made on Jan 2 last year, Habibul contended that despite Syed Saddiq’s denial of media reports of the press conference making any mention of him (Habibul), Habibul alleged his relatives and friends kept asking him about the allegation, even up to late 2021.

Habibul also denied Syed Saddiq’s claim that the civil action by Habibul was for political advantage or intimidation purposes. - Mkini