Malay daily succeeds in getting stay over defamation suit by Anwar

Malay daily succeeds in getting stay over defamation suit by Anwar

PUTRAJAYA - A Court of Appeal here today granted an interim stay of proceedings application by Malay daily Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd against their defamation suit brought by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

A three-member panel led by Datuk Zaharah Ibrahim granted the stay of proceedings at the High Court pending an appeal after hearing submissions from Utusan's counsel Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin and Anwar's counsel J. Leela.

Zaharah also fixed May 28 to hear Utusan's appeal over Kuala Lumpur High Court judicial commissioner Rosilah Yop's decision to not recuse herself.

On Apr 18, Rosilah ruled there is no danger of bias arising from her hearing the suit on the mere basis that she heard Anwar's suit against blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, also known as, Papagomo.

She said there is no link between the present case and the previous one except that Anwar were the plaintiffs in both suits.

Rosilah said not only were the facts different but that the witnesses involved are not the same.

‎On March 8 last year, Anwar sued Utusan, its group editor-in-chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak, local television station Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Bhd(TV3), its group managing editor Datuk Shahruddin Abdul Latif and Buletin Utama news editor Ing Boon Seng for allegedly linking Anwar to the intrusion in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

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