The civil court has set six days in December next year for full trial of a defamation suit by former law minister Zaid Ibrahim and two other senior lawyers against the Malaysian Bar and its president Karen Cheah.
The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today fixed hearing dates on Dec 3 to 6 and Dec 10 to 11 in 2024.
When contacted this afternoon, Rueben Mathiavaranam, who alongside Zaid (above) are the three plaintiffs, confirmed the hearing dates set during case management of the civil action before judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain.
During today’s case management, counsel Ong Kang Nyong and Kathleen Samantha George appeared for the three plaintiffs who are senior partners of law firm Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners (Zist), namely Zaid, Rueben and Liew Teck Huat.
On Sept 30 last year, Zaid and the two other plaintiffs filed the defamation suit over an allegation of misconduct related to Najib Abdul Razak’s appeal in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.
The civil action centred over Cheah’s press statement issued on Aug 19 last year.
Najib is currently serving his jail term, following the Federal Court's dismissal of his appeal on Aug 23 last year.
Through the writ of summons, the three plaintiffs claimed the press release was published on the Bar website with neither notice nor verification sought from them beforehand.
The plaintiffs claimed the issuance of the media statement amounted to a breach of statutory duty on the part of the Bar and Cheah.
They claimed, among others, that this is because any complaints of misconduct should have been made and referred to the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board as per Section 99(1) of the Legal Profession Act (LPA) 1976.
Through the legal action, the plaintiffs seek general and aggravated damages, interest, and a permanent injunction to restrain the Bar and Cheah from further publishing defamatory words.
The three are also seeking several declarations, among them, that the publication of the media statement is not the proper or correct method or forum for any alleged misconduct and is in contravention of the provisions of the LPA.
Through its statement of defence filed on Dec 30 last year, the Bar contended that it had a statutory duty to inform the public in regard to the conduct of Najib’s lawyers during the former prime minister’s appeal.
The statutory body claimed that the impugned press release by Cheah also did not prejudge Zaid and the two other lawyers prior to the trio’s related disciplinary proceedings by the Advocate and Solicitor Disciplinary Board. - Mkini
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