KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has filed an application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to strike out a subpoena obtained by Sungai Besar Umno chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos over a defamation suit.
Jamal had sought the subpoena to get Dr Mahathir to be a witness in a defamation suit filed by activist Maria Chin Abdullah against him for allegedly linking her movement Bersih 2.0 with the Daesh terrorist group.
Lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, who represented Dr Mahathir, said his client had filed the application to strike out the subpoena on Dec 19 last year.
“Jan 15 has been set for case management,” he told reporters after the hearing on the application by Dr Mahathir came up for mention in chambers before Judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab.
Lawyer V. Mugunthan represented Jamal.
Dr Mahathir, who is now chairman of opposition party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, is seeking a court order to cancel the subpoena dated Sept 28 last year on the grounds that he had no specific knowledge on issues concerning the suit.
In his application, Dr Mahathir had also claimed that the subpoena obtained by the defendant had abused the judicial process and with malice against him for the purpose of engaging in political gimmicks.
On Nov 14 last year, the court had allowed an application by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun to strike out a subpoena obtained by Jamal regarding the same case.
The court allowed the application on the grounds that Mohamad Fuzi, who was the director of the Special Branch then, did not have any knowledge about the detention of Maria under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).
On Oct 7, 2016, Maria, 61, chairman of Bersih 2.0, a movement seeking electoral reform in the country, had filed the suit against Jamal, who is also the chairman of GMM, a coalition of Malay non-governmental organisations.
In her statement of claim, Maria alleged that on Sept 28, 2016, Jamal had made defamatory remarks about her at a press conference held at the compound of the Putra World Trade Centre here, which were later carried in news portals and print and electronic media.
The plaintiff also claimed that on Oct 4, 2016, Jamal had again made similar defamatory remarks at the compound of the Bukit Aman police headquarters here, which were also carried by the three media platforms the next day. – Bernama
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