KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here has fixed March 7 for the case management of the defamation suit filed by former Penang deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy against independent preacher Zakir Naik for allegedly defaming him at a lecture in Nigeria, last November.
The date was set by the high court’s senior assistant registrar, Nur Shasha Hidayah Nor Azahar, today.
Zakir’s lawyer, Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, told the court that the date was chosen to allow the defendant to update the filing status of any counterclaims on the matter, as well as to update the filing status of any interlocutory applications, if applicable.
“We will file an application in the Ramasamy case in the near future, arguing that the action arose in Nigeria, and therefore, the case should be filed in that country,” Akberdin said.
Previously, on November 3, Ramasamy, represented by lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind, filed a writ of summons and statement of claim at the high court registrar’s office, naming Zakir as the sole defendant.
In the statement of claim, Ramasamy asserted that Zakir had made defamatory statements against him during a lecture in Sokoto, Nigeria, on November 2.
Ramasamy claimed that Zakir uploaded the recording of the talk on Facebook on November 4, where the preacher allegedly touched on winning his defamation suit against Ramasamy and referred to him as an enemy of Islam.
Ramasamy contended that Zakir’s accusations were false, slanderous and made with malicious intent. He argued that such statements could portray him as a racist and Islamophobic individual, damaging his good name and reputation.
This counter-suit by Ramasamy comes after the same court ordered him on November 2 last year to pay RM1.52 million in damages to Zakir.
The decision was made by judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, who found Zakir to be the plaintiff, which was among the three elements that had to be proven in the suit against Ramasamy. – February 19, 2024