KUALA LUMPUR: A defamation suit by Petaling Jaya member of parliament (MP) Tony Pua Kiam Wee against Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and two others was fixed for case management on April 23.
Pua's counsel Allif Benjamin Suhaimi said that High Court senior assistant registrar Norliza Hussin set the date to allow parties to settle documents to be given to court and for the court to determine a trial date.
"The case (when its hearing date is fixed) will be heard before High Court judicial commissioner Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera," Allif said when met today.
Counsel V. Prem acted for defendant Ahmad Zahid while S.J. Chu appeared for Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad and its group editor-in-chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak, who are the other defendants named in the suit.
On Dec 9 last year, Pua filed the suit at the High Court Registry.
In Pua's statement of claim, he claimed Ahmad Zahid was responsible for the publishing of the Utusan newspaper article "Tony Pernah Ditahan di Singapura (Tony Has Been Arrested in Singapore) and the other defendants had failed to investigate its accuracy before printing it on March 18, 2011.
Pua also alleged that the article portrayed him as having been arrested by the Singapore police for a criminal offence and that he had been charged in court.
Pua, who is also DAP national publicity secretary, claimed that following the article, his reputation and credibility as an MP was jeopardised and the article was not retracted despite the serving of notice to do so on June 17 last year.
He seeks an injunction to prevent the defendants from publishing similar libelous statements, general and aggravated damages, interest and cost.