KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 – The lawyer representing Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail(Pic) in a defamation suit brought by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) has applied to withdraw from the case. Mohd Afiq Mohd Noor told reporters he made the application last Friday, but did not disclose any reason for his decision.
He said High Court Judicial Commissioner Datuk Wira Kamaluddin Md Said, who heard proceedings in chambers, had set June 18 for case management. On Aug 16, 2010, Felda and its investment company, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Sdn Bhd, filed a RM200-million defamation suit against Wan Azizah and five others over articles published in the Suara Keadilan party organ.
Besides Wan Azizah, Felda named as defendants PKR vice-president Senator Dr Syed Husin Ali, Pelita Koridor Sdn Bhd, Percetakan NPK Sdn Bhd, Suara Keadilan editor Dzulkarnain Taib and Rusnizam Mahat, who wrote the articles. In its statement of claim, Felda alleged that the newspaper had published the articles of a defamatory nature on June 22 and 29.
Felda claimed that one of the articles, headlined “Felda Bangkrap”, and another headlined “Kontroversi” and “Bina Bangunan RM662 juta Hanya Libatkan Tiga Individu”, were libellous and could undermine its reputation. Felda was represented by counsel Datuk Fairuz Hussein Jamaluddin.
BERNAMA
