KUALA LUMPUR: The RM5mil defamation suit filed by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over a Facebook post six years ago has been settled out of court.
Dzulkefly withdrew the lawsuit after Najib made a clarification on his post, posted in Aug 2020, in a consent judgment recorded before High Court Justice Mahazan Mat Taib here on Thursday (April 9).
In his statement, which was read out in court, Najib said he accepted that Dzulkefly had no involvement in the appointment of his daughter, Nurul Iman Dzulkefly, to the AIM Solutions Group Bhd board of directors in April 2018 and to the Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) board of trustees in Oct 2018.
"I wish to clarify that the said post was not intended to be defamatory nor was it intended to impute that the plaintiff was corrupt or involved in nepotism or cronyism. Rather, it was meant to highlight the perceived double standards among political parties," he said.
Najib said the post was published strictly in his capacity and duty as an MP.
He said the true meaning and intention of his post was to serve as a general political commentary on the broader issues of governance, administration and appointments to government-linked entities, which were matters of active public discourse and political debate.
"While my post was a matter of political commentary, I acknowledge the distress it has caused him and his family, which was never my intention," Najib added.
After the statement was read out, Justice Mahazan thanked parties for their efforts in resolving the matter. The court did not make an order as to costs.
The settlement came on the third day of the hearing of the defamation suit after Dzulkefly and his daughter both testified.
Dzulkefly filed the suit in Jan 2022, claiming that Najib published a defamatory Facebook post about him on Aug 24, 2020. He claimed the post implied that he had practised nepotism to ensure his daughter’s appointment as a board member of AIM.
Najib, in his statement of defence filed on March 29, 2022, contended that the post was not directed at Dzulkefly but at the Pakatan coalition.
