FORMER health minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has filed a defamation suit against former prime minister Najib Razak following his allegations of nepotism and cronyism.

Dzulkefly filed a statement of claim at Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday, providing an August 24, 2020, Facebook post by Najib together with a Sinar Harian article dated January 28, 2019, as key evidence.

In the post, Najib took aim at the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, in particular Dzulkefly and his daughter Nurul Iman.

“The people must know that nepotism, cronyism and political appointments only happen in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

“It never happened with the failed PH coalition before, although the wife of the seventh prime minister’s political secretary was appointed to chair the board of directors for Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), while a minister’s daughter was chosen to be a member of the board.

“The excuse given by PH was that they are qualified given their experience in commerce.

“PH also did not disturb the cornerstone institutions of Malaysia although a lawyer to a failed accountant was appointed attorney-general, while Amanah and PKR leaders were all given speaker positions and became the commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

“If PH does it, it’s OK. Others should not follow suit,” Najib’s Facebook post read, which was shared nearly 1,000 times and attracted hundreds of comments.

Dzulkefly described the posting as purely motivated for self-interest and asserted in court documents that it was defamatory. 

Dzulkefly is accusing Najib of causing serious damage to his reputation as a politician and former minister with clean records, adding that he was the target of hateful messages and insults as a result.

Initially, the former minister sought a retraction, an apology and RM1 million in damages, but Najib has refused.

Now, with High Court action in progress, Dzulkefly’s compensation demands have risen to RM5 million. – January 1, 2022.