Sapura Energy Ex Ceo Rafizi Settle Defamation Suit

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Shahril Shamsuddin and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli have settled a defamation suit linked to the issue of the former Sapura Energy Bhd (SEB) CEO’s salary.
The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today was informed that the plaintiff and defendant achieved a settlement agreement on April 15.
Rafizi’s counsel Navpreet Singh said judge Faiz Dziyauddin was notified of the settlement over Shahril’s defamation suit against Rafizi.
The lawyer said the plaintiff filed a discontinuance of the civil action on April 18, and the court vacated the trial dates scheduled in September.
Last Friday, the plaintiff and defendant issued a joint statement.
Shahril, who is currently Sapura Group president and CEO, previously sued Rafizi over the latter’s allegation that the plaintiff’s remuneration was too high in light of SEB’s financial difficulties.
Ex-Sapura Energy Bhd CEO Shahril ShamsuddinThe crux of Rafizi’s statement of defence was that he was ready to prove in court the alleged truth of the contents of the three online articles that formed the basis for the defamation action.
The lawsuit was over three allegedly defamatory articles that appeared on Rafizi’s blog between March 31 and April 4, 2022.
The three articles formed part of Rafizi’s online debate at the time with former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak over whether it was proper for public funds to be used to bail out SEB and the root cause of the company’s financial distress.
Among the issues at the heart of the debate was whether Shahril’s remuneration as then SEB CEO was excessive.
On March 18 last year, Bernama reported that SEB suffered RM8.9 billion in losses for the financial year ending Jan 31, 2022, and its subsidiaries were served with winding-up petitions.
Lawyer Nurul Syafinaz Ibrahim acted for Shahril. - Mkini

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