SHAH ALAM (Aug 18): The hearing of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s RM150 million defamation suit against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, initially scheduled on Tuesday (Aug 19) and Wednesday (Aug 20), has now been deferred for two months and will begin on Oct 21 instead.
The date was fixed by newly appointed Judicial Commissioner Datuk Donald Joseph Franklin in a case management on Monday, who is taking over from JC Zaharah Husain.
Franklin was previously the head of the Civil Division of the Attorney General’s Chambers and was recently sworn in to the judiciary last Wednesday (Aug 13).
He is the third judge to take over the matter, after the case was slated earlier before Jamhirah Ali who had recused herself due to her purported ties with one of the lawyers representing the parties.
The new date was confirmed by Anwar’s lawyer Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi when contacted by The Edge.
The centenarian Mahathir arrived in court with his counsel Rafique Rashid Ali at 10.30am.
The former prime minister had filed the RM150 million defamation suit against the current prime minister in May 2023, over claims made by Anwar during a speech at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) congress in March 2023, alleging that “a leader of 22 years and 22 months” had enriched his own family.
Anwar, in his defence to Mahathir’s suit, claimed that the statements he made at the party’s congress were true.