The Federal Court has set Sept 20 to hear an application for leave to appeal brought by Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob over a decision in his defamation suit against Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd.

Judge Zaharah Ibrahim set the date during case management today in the presence of Adnan’s lawyer Amrit Kaur Bhal who was also mentioned on behalf of Utusan Melayu.

The court ordered the two parties to file their written submissions two weeks before the hearing of the application for leave.

Adnan is seeking the leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal ruling which allowed Utusan Melayu’s appeal to strike out his defamation suit against the company over publication of an article in Mingguan Malaysia under the headline, ‘Hebat Sangatkah Adnan’ on Nov 9, 2014.

Utusan Melayu appealed after losing its bid to have the lawsuit struck out by the High Court on July 23 last year.

On March 1 this year, a three-man bench of the Court of Appeal presided by Justice Rohana Yusuf, Idrus Harun and Mary Lim held that Adnan, as the Pahang menteri besar and an elected representative, did not have the locus standi to sue Utusan Melayu for defamation in his official capacity over the article published by the media company.

The panel also held that public officials must be open to public criticism and hence should be precluded from suing the media for defamation in their official capacity.

- Bernama