SHAH ALAM: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, with his book publisher, have reached an amicable settlement in a lawsuit linked to Thomas's memoir, "My Story: Justice in the Wilderness".
High Court judge Justice Khadijah Idris recorded the settlement without liberty to file afresh, here on Monday (Jan 19).
The court did not make an order as to costs.
Najib had sued Thomas and publisher GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd in October 2021, claiming that the book defamed him, linking him to a purported conspiracy to the murder of Mongolian interpreter, Altantuya Shaariibuu.
At a press conference, Najib's counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client agreed to withdraw the lawsuit without any order for legal costs.
Muhammad Shafee then read out a signed statement by Thomas, which stated:
"I stand by my statements and opinion expressed in Chapter 42 of my book, My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, that Sirul and Azilah's statutory declarations corroborated one another.
"I accept, however, that since the publication of my book in 2021, I am not aware of any evidence linking Najib to the murder of Altantuya, although I understand there have been investigations since the publication of the book."
Muhammad Shafee told the press that Najib was "very happy" with the settlement and that Thomas's admission in court should put a stop to all the rumours linking him to Altantuya's case.
Najib had, on Oct 27, 2021, sued Thomas and the publisher over the former AG's book My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, claiming that the memoir had defamed him by allegedly linking him to a purported conspiracy to murder Altantuya.
In his lawsuit, Najib sought unspecified damages, the removal of words he claimed were defamatory, an apology, and a permanent injunction to restrain further publication of such statements.
In 2009, two former policemen, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, were convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Altantuya, which took place at Mukim Bukit Raja in Shah Alam between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am the following day, in 2006.
Azilah and Sirul were discharged and acquitted by the Court of Appeal in 2013, but the Federal Court overturned their acquittal in 2015 and confirmed their conviction and death penalty.
Sirul, however, did not appear in court during the Federal Court's decision and is believed to be in Australia.
In 2024, the Federal Court commuted Azilah's death sentence to 40 years in prison and imposed 12 strokes of the cane after reviewing his application.
