Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah's (above, left) application for her defamation suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown (above, right) and two others to be disposed via summary judgment has been fixed for decision on Dec 13.
High Court judge Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim fixed the date after hearing submissions from lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu, who represented Rewcastle Brown, while Vishu Kumar acted for Sultanah Nur Zahirah.
Americk submitted that his client said the statement referred to the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, who had agreed to set up Terengganu Investment Authority Berhad (TIA), not the wife of the Sultan (Sultanah Nur Zahirah).
He said his client wanted the suit to be decided by way of a full trial so that she could call a language expert to testify.
"It is a question of using the grammar and the interpretation of the grammar... that's why we want to call a language expert from Oxford University of United Kingdom to analyse the sentences," he said.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah, as the plaintiff, filed the application for her suit to be decided by summary judgment on May 27 this year, under Order 14A of the Rules of Court 2012.
On Nov 21 last year, she sued Rewcastle Brown or Clare Louis Brown, Gerakbudaya Enterprise publisher Chong Ton Sin (above), and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd, as the first to the third defendants, alleging that the first defendant made a disparaging statement about her in her book, 'The Sarawak Report - The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose'.
The plaintiff claimed the statement could be taken to mean that she was involved in corrupt practices and interfered in Terengganu's administration, besides using her status to influence the establishment of TIA, which later became 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
She alleged the statement also construed her as having helped Jho Low or Low Taek Jho to become the adviser for TIA.
Sultanah Nur Zahirah contended that she had never involved herself in the administration of Terengganu state and establishment of TIA, and therefore the statement had slandered and tarnished her reputation.
She is claiming general damages of RM100 million from each defendant and seeking an order for the second defendant (publisher) to withdraw the book containing the defamatory statement, and for the third defendant to stop further printing of the book.
- Bernama
