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Lawyer waiting for WSJ's reply over SPEECH Act before citing it for defamation
Malaysian Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak, front row right, speaks as he unveils the Malaysia's 2016 budget at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct
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Malaysian Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak, front row right, speaks as he unveils the Malaysia's 2016 budget at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 23. (AP/Joshua Paul) (AP/Joshua Paul)
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span class="inline inline-center">Malaysian Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak, front row right, speaks as he unveils the Malaysia's 2016 budget at Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 23. (AP/Joshua Paul)
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has no intention of delay ing the filing of a defamation suit against The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in Malaysia, according to the Prime Minister's lead lawyer.
Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun said he was awaiting confirmation from WSJ whether it was intending to invoke the SPEECH Act in relation to its report on Najib.
'We are inclined to advise the PM to file the suit in Malaysia. It is not about delaying, but to do it right. I do not want it to be thrown out on a technicality,' he said Monday.
The SPEECH (Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage) Act is a federal statutory law in the United States which makes foreign libel judgments unenforceable in US courts.
He said he had informed WSJ in a letter 'in certainty' that the PM's cause of action will be defamation.
'I just want them to say whether they are relying on the SPEECH Act or not. I cannot force them to reply. We definitely want to go for defamation,' he added.
Co-counsel Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin said the Act provided for a wide range of immunity.
Asked why the PM opted not to file the suit in the United States, Firoz said it was Najib's choice to file it anywhere.
'If the politician is from Malaysia, why must he sue in a foreign jurisdiction? In that country, you are not well known as in the country you live in,' he added.
Mohd Hafarizam said recently that he had written to WSJ's Singapore-based senior counsel Philip Jeyaretnam to inquire about the SPEECH Act issue.
On July 3, WSJ published an article quoting an unnamed investigator, claiming that almost US$700mil had been channelled into Najib's personal accounts.
On July 8, the PM's lawyers sent a letter to WSJ seeking an explanation over the article.
The Prime Minister's Office had said that the article was political sabotage while 1MDB, which was implicated, insisted that no funds had been transferred into Najib's accounts. (kes)
