It was a high-priced baptism of fire for the newly-appointed Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman, whose first international press conference has courted a RM100 million lawsuit.

Filing the suit was Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is no stranger to exorbitant demands through legal suits.

The suit was filed this afternoon at the Kuala Lumpur High Court through his lawyer N Sankara Nair.

anwar and anifah aman The matter in dispute was Anifah's claim that Anwar had offered him the deputy premier’s post if the former turned his back on Barisan Nasional and joined the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat.

The minister had revealed this during a press conference with United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Washington on May 15, which Anwar vehemently denied the next day.

"I was personally offered a very lucrative position, like a deputy prime ministership. These facts are not known to the world at large," Anifah reportedly told the Washington press conference.

"And he has started trying to buy other legislative members," he told the group of foreign journalists.

The legal action was put in motion after Anifah refused to retract his statement and issue a public apology.

On May 18, Sankara's office had sent a letter of demand to Anifah's office in Wisma Putra, asking him to retract his remarks, apologise and give an undertaking he would not repeat the claim.

The seven-day deadline for response expired two days ago, resulting in the suit being filed.

Federal government also named

In his statement of claim, Anwar named Anifah and the federal government as defendants.

He is seeking RM100 million in compensatory damages, along with aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as an injunction to prevent Anifah or his agents from repeating or publishing the defamatory statement.

Anwar claimed the “defamatory and libelous words” in its ordinary meaning had meant that he (Anwar) is dishonest, liar, untrustworthy, unfit to hold public office, unprincipled and corrupt [...] unethical and abuses (his) position in public and private office”.

Anwar claimed that Anifah's remarks and portrayal of him are “bereft of truth, deliberate, malicious” and in gross negligence.

He alleged that the statement was made in bad faith and had exposed him to public hatred and scorn, as well as lowered his esteem in the eyes of the public.

Anwar claimed that Anifah has caused irreparable damage to his character, credit and reputation both nationally and internationally, as an opposition leader, the Permatang Pauh MP and adviser of PKR.

Lawyer: Anwar cannot sit back and let it go

Meanwhile, Sankara said Anifah's allegations were part of a government campaign to undermine the opposition leader, who served as deputy prime minister until he was sacked and jailed in 1998.

"They're trying to suggest he's not trustworthy, he's lying, and that he makes all these political deals," he told AFP after lodging the suit.

"If you sit back and let it go, it's as good as admitting all these things are happening," he said.

Anwar is pursuing several defamation actions against government figures, but none has yet come to trial.