Clare to file defence soon in Hadi’s defamation suit

On Aug 2, the court rejected Clare’s application to demand that Hadi deposit a higher security to meet the expected costs before the start of his suit. The court also ordered her to file her defence by Aug 30. However, Clare was given more time after she appointed a new lawyer.

(FMT) – Clare Rewcastle Brown will file her defence soon in response to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s defamation suit against the editor of the anti-Najib website, Sarawak Report.

“Yes, soon actually,” she said in an e-mail reply to FMT’s query for an update on the case in a London court.

Clare said she was unsure when the trial would start.

“Trial is another matter. That is months away,” she added.

Meanwhile, lawyer Americk Sidhu said the civil procedure in Malaysia and the United Kingdom were quite similar.

“There will be case management and preliminary issues to be ironed out before the trial dates are fixed,” he said.

Americk said Clare could file her defence first and then make an application to strike out Hadi’s suit.

“However, this must be done much earlier before the court fixes trial dates when witnesses will be called to give evidence,” he added.

On Aug 2, the court rejected Clare’s application to demand that Hadi deposit a higher security to meet the expected costs before the start of his suit. The court also ordered her to file her defence by Aug 30. However, Clare was given more time after she appointed a new lawyer.

The Islamist party leader was only ordered to place RM80,000 as security, in the event he lost the case against Clare.

The suit, filed at the London High Court in April, was related to an article she wrote in August 2016.

Sarawak Report ran an article in which it claimed RM90 million was “reckoned” to have entered the accounts of top PAS leaders to woo them into supporting Umno and Barisan Nasional.