Thomas Objects To Parts Of Najib S Witness Statement In Defamation Suit

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Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas has objected to several parts of Najib Abdul Razak's witness statement in his suit over alleged defamatory statements regarding the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, as published in the book “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”.
Counsel Alan Adrian Gomez, representing Thomas, raised the objection when the former prime minister was reading his witness statement on the second day of the hearing of his defamation suit against Thomas and GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd before High Court judge Khadijah Idris.
The objected parts were several paragraphs, among others, related to private investigator P Balasubramaniam.
Khadijah has set Sept 19 to hear oral submissions and deliver a ruling.
On Oct 11, Najib testified that he never instructed former members of the Special Action Unit, Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, to kill Altantuya in 2006, as he had never met the Mongolian woman.
The former Pekan MP filed the suit in 2021, naming Thomas and GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd as the first and second defendants.
In his statement of claim, Najib, 72, claimed that Thomas had authored and caused the publication of the book, which allegedly linked him to Altantuya's murder.
He claimed that the book contained defamatory statements that implied that he had ordered Azilah and Sirul to kill Altantuya and that he had confused the public over the murder to cover his tracks.
The book was published by the second defendant (Gerakbudaya) and distributed in the country at the end of January 2021, and subsequently worldwide.
Najib contended that his reputation was affected by the publication of the defamatory statements, and sought general, aggravated and exemplary damages against both defendants, as well as an order for the defendants to remove the defamatory statements from the book.
- Bernama

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