KUALA LUMPUR, 14 JULY: Zuraida Kamarudin, the Minister of Housing and Local Government, has filed an application to have a defamation suit brought against her by former Cabinet member and PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail dismissed. Saifuddin filed the lawsuit in July of last year in response to a statement made by Zuraida accusing him of wrongdoing.
Zuraida allegedly accused Saifuddin of making money from a foundation in Kelantan when he was a Machang Member of Parliament on December 8, 2019, during a Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV) 2030 dinner at a hotel.
“The comments in question must be interpreted in light of the power struggle that existed at the time between PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his former deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali. Zuraida was a vocal supporter of Azmin, whereas I am an Anwar fan “In his suit, he added.
The remark by Zuraida, who is also an Ampang MP, was allegedly posted on a Facebook group called “Friends of Azmin Ali” and then shared on her own page, according to Saifuddin.
As a result, he’s asking the court to award him general, aggravated, and exemplary damages, as well as an injunction barring her from uttering or repeating any more insulting words.
During case management before High Court Justice Datuk Rozana Ali Yusoff, Saifuddin’s lawyer William Leong, who is also a Selayang MP, informed theedgemarkets.com that parties were directed to file their statements about Zuraida’s striking out application.
The court has set a hearing date of July 26 for the application, but owing to the current lockdown, Leong is unsure if it will be heard.
“We’re waiting to hear whether it’ll go forward,” the lawyer stated.
Apart from this defamation suit, Saifuddin had also filed a RM10 million suit against Zuraida in his capacity as PKR secretary-general, after the Ampang MP, along with Azmin – who is now the MP for Gombak – and eight other MPs, defected from the party, leading to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in February last year./n
