THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today fixed four days, starting December 7, for the trial of the Terengganu sultanah’s defamation suit against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown and two others.

Judge Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim fixed the dates in chambers, in the presence of Sultanah Nur Zahirah’s lawyer, A. Vishnu Kumar, and Americk Singh Sidhu, representing Rewcastle-Brown.

Vishnu Kumar told reporters that Zaidi also fixed March 2 for case management, for the parties to update the court on the status of the defendants’ appeal at the Court of Appeal against a decision on Order 14A of the Rules of Court 2012.

On December 13 last year, Zaidi decided that the sultanah, as the plaintiff, does not have to testify in her suit after granting her application under Order 14A for the case to be decided through points of law.

The judge held that the case will be decided by the testimonies of Rewcastle-Brown and the two other defendants, namely Gerakbudaya Enterprise publisher Chong Ton Sin and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd.

On October 24 last year, Americk submitted that his client wants the suit to be decided by way of a full trial so that she can call a language expert to testify.

On November 21, the sultanah sued Rewcastle-Brown, Chong and Vinlin Press, saying the first defendant made a disparaging statement about her in the book The Sarawak Report – The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose.

The plaintiff said the statement could be taken to mean that she was involved in corrupt practices, interfered in Terengganu’s administration and used her status to influence the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), which later became 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

She said the statement could be read as her having helped wanted businessman Low Taek Jho become an adviser for TIA.

The sultanah is claiming RM100 million in general damages from each defendant, and seeking an order for Chong to withdraw the book in question and for Vinlin Press to stop printing it. – Bernama, January 20, 2020.