Blogger Ahirudin Attan's application to strike out a defamation suit by the New Straits Times Press (NSTP) and four others was adjourned today to April 2.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Hishamuddin Yunus made the decision in chambers today after hearing the request for adjournment from Ahirudin's lawyers Edmund Bon and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.

Ahirudin is being sued by NSTP, its deputy chairperson Kalimullah Hassan, chief executive officer Syed Faisal Albar, group editor-in-chief Hishamudin Aun and former group editor Brendan Pereira.

They had originally applied for the court to order Ahirudin to remove 48 posts on his blog 'Rocky's Bru' that were deemed defamatory and to stop him from further defaming them.

Ammendments made

Following Ahirudin's application to strike out the suit on the basis that the grounds furnished by the plaintiffs were vague and undefined, amendments to the claims were made.

Bon said the amendments have to be looked at closely before a decision on the next course of action can be made.

He was referring to whether Ahirudin would resume with the application to strike out the suit or proceed to challenge the inter-parte injunction.

"We would have to look and see if it is satisfactory to our purposes and proceed with one or the other option," he said when contacted.

If the application is withdrawn, the next step would be to hear the NSTP's application for an interim injunction essentially aimed at stopping Ahirudin and removing the postings deemed defamatory from his website, Bon told AFP .

Meanwhile, Ahirudin denied that his articles in the 'Rocky Bru' blog were anti-government.

"I don't write anti-government articles. (Articles) critical of the government, yes," Ahirudin told AFP .

Ooi's strike-out application

Another blogger, Jeff Ooi of Screenshots fame, is similarly being sued by NSTP, Kalimullah, Hishamuddin and Pereira.

His strike-out application will be heard on March 6.

Last month, the newspaper operated by NSTP reached an agreement with both bloggers to refrain from publishing articles or posting comments related to the unprecedented lawsuit.

Malaysian bloggers and media watchdogs have criticised the defamation lawsuit against the duo.

They say the legal action will stifle free expression in Malaysia where the media is already tightly controlled.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has defended the suit saying the Internet was not exempt from defamation laws.