THE Court of Appeal has fixed August 21 to deliver its verdict in the appeal by former Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim over his defamation lawsuit against Lim Guan Eng.

The decision date was fixed following the case management held before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Norkamilah Aziz today.

Azeez’s lawyer, Craig Ho, and Felix Lim, counsel for Guan Eng confirmed the decision date when contacted.

On May 19, the Court of Appeal’s three-member panel, comprising judges Azizah Nawawi, Mariana Yahya and Azimah Omar, heard the appeal and deferred their decision.

Azeez is appealing against the Penang High Court’s decision on December 11, 2020, in dismissing his defamation suit against Guan Eng, who is former Penang chief minister, in connection with the construction of the Penang undersea tunnel project.

In March 2018, Azeez sued Guan Eng, claiming that he had issued defamatory statements during a press conference at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office on February 28, 2018, and during a Chinese New Year open house hosted by the Penang Development Corporation on the same day, connecting Azeez to a payment of RM3 million as consultation fees from the developer of the undersea tunnel project.

Azeez is seeking, among others, general and exemplary damages and other relief deemed fit by the court.

Azeez’s lead counsel, Porres Royan, submitted before the Court of Appeal panel on May 19 that High Court judge Rosilah Yop’s reasoning in accepting Guan Eng’s defence of plea of justification was flawed and plainly wrong.

He argued that the judge failed to appreciate that Guan Eng had not adduced any proof whatsoever of the truth of the imputation that Azeez had received money from Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd in connection with the project.

Guan Eng’s lawyer, N. Mureli, countered by saying the statement made by his client was not against Azeez but was targeting other parties and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over the authority’s action to charge one person and not charging another. – Bernama, June 8, 2023.