Aug 8 hearing on Apandi Ali’s defamation appeal against Kit Siang.

The Court of Appeal has scheduled August 8 as the hearing date for former attorney general, Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s appeal against the dismissal of his RM10 million defamation lawsuit against Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang. This confirmation came after the case management session before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Ahmad Fairuz Mohd Puzi on July 25.

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed Mohamed Apandi’s lawsuit on May 23 last year. The suit was filed against the DAP veteran for allegedly defaming him in an article related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal. In his suit, Mohamed Apandi claimed that Lim had written and caused the publication of an article titled “Dangerous fallacy to think Malaysia’s on the road to integrity” in Malaysiakini on May 6, 2019.

The article’s allegedly libelous words implied that Mohamed Apandi was involved in crime and had abetted in the 1MDB financial scandal, lacked morals and integrity, and had abused his power as the attorney general. Mohamed Apandi, who served as the attorney general from July 27, 2015, to June 4, 2018, argued that these words were untrue and published with the intention of tarnishing his image and credibility for cheap publicity.

In his lawsuit, Mohamed Apandi sought aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as RM10 million in general damages. He also sought an injunction to prevent Lim and/or his agents from publishing the alleged defamatory words in the future, along with any other relief deemed appropriate by the court. The appeal was filed by Mohamed Apandi on May 24 last year.

Source: The Star