Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has failed to include the attorney-general's (AG) exoneration of the 1MDB affair and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) statement concerning his RM2.6 billion being a donation, in his suit against PAS organ Harakah Daily .

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Hue Siew Kheng dismissed Najib's application, ruling that the matter was not related to the ongoing case, and that the application was filed late.

Apandi cleared Najib last January, while MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamad said it was donation made sometime in August.

The decision was delivered by Justice Hue in her chambers.

Harakah Daily lawyer Wan Rohimi Wan Daud said the judge ruled that the hearing of the suit will begin in June. Justice Hue had already fixed June 23, 24, 27, 29, and 30 as the new dates for hearing.

Najib's lawyer Nor Emelia Mohd Iszham said she would seek instructions on whether to file an appeal on the decision today.

Najib filed the suit against Harakah Daily 's Rosli Yakcop and its chief editor Taufek Yahya over an article published in the web over Najib's step-son Riza Aziz' lifestyle.

The article is based on a New York Times report.

Initially, the hearing of the suit was scheduled last month. However, as Harakah had a change of lawyers and Najib had applied to include the statement, the hearing was then re-scheduled by the judge in June.

Initially, Harakah was represented by Amanah lawyers Sepang MP Mohd Hanipa Maidin and Faiz Fadzil, the son of the late PAS president Fadzil Noor.

Besides Wan Rohimi, Harakah is also represented by Kota Baru MP and PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan.

Najib in his suit filed exactly a year ago claimed the article contained words which implied that he had misused the 1MDB funds.

As such, he said, the publication of the article had damaged his reputation and caused him to be condemned by the social media and the mass media.

Najib also claimed that Taufek had failed to practise responsible journalism by not verifying the authenticity of the article before publishing it.

He also alleged that the defendants had intentionally published the article for their own agenda – to destroy the people’s confidence and trust in him.

Najib is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages, interests and an injunction to prevent the defendants or their assistants from further publishing the article.

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