Two weeks after filing legal action at the Kota Bharu Syariah High Court, Kelantan prince Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Sultan Ismail Petra has obtained leave (permission) to initiate defamatory proceedings against his wife Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother.

manohara odelia pinot daisy fajarina The leave was granted by Senior Assistant Registrar Safarudin Tamby at the Kuala Lumpur High Court at 11.05am today, thus enabling the prince to sue Manohara, 17, and his mother in-law, Daisy Fajarina for a total of RM105 million in damages.

The leave was important for Tengku Fakhry to serve the defamation suit outside of Malaysian jurisdiction, as Manohara and Daisy live in Jakarta. They have 21 days in which to file their defence.

The prince, who is also a businessperson, named the two as defendants. Besides seeking damages, he is also seeking an injunction to stop them from making further defamatory remarks about him.

The matter today attracted a swarm of journalists from the local print and electronic media, and also Indonesia's TVOne television station, which is covering the proceedings.

tengku fakhry manohara odelia pinot 260609 Tengku Fakhry had, on July 5, filed an application at the Kota Bahru Syariah High Court to compel Manohara to return to him.

The prince has also asked the former Indonesian model to pay back almost RM1 million which he had lent her during their marriage. This case is set for mention on Aug 2.

Manohara left her husband in June after complaining that he had abused her physically and sexually. She returned to Jakarta to be with her mother.

In Tengku Fakhry's statement of claim filed by the law firm of JS Pillay and Mohd Haziq, he described himself as the third son of the Kelantan sultan, and that he resides in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan and Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.

33 ‘defamatory statements’

The prince claimed that, between April and June this year, Daisy had uttered slanderous and defamatory statements at a press conference that resulted publication in the Indonesian media, news agency AFP and several Malaysian news outlets including Malaysiakini .

If taken verbatim, he said, the remarks have painted a picture that he is:

  • guilty of torturing, abusing and raping Manohara
  • guilty of mistreatment and sexually harassing he,
  • forcibly abducting her and unlawfully confining her,
  • guilty of denying Manohara's family access to her,
  • guilty of stopping any form of contact between Daisy and Manohara,
  • guilty of slashing her chest with a razor,
  • guilty of injecting her with tranquilizers and weigh-gaining hormones

He alleged the statements were made out of malice to injure his reputation and were motivated to gain financial gain, but have resulted in irreparable and maximum damage to him.

Tengku Fakhry claimed these have tarnished his good name, standing, and reputation among the royalty, the public, the Malaysian government, and also in the international community.

tengku bendahara filing defamation suit against manohara 200709 mohd haziq pillay The prince is claiming RM35 million in aggravated damages, another RM35 million for exemplary damages and the remaining RM35 million for compensatory damages.

Lawyer Mohd Haaziq Pillay (left) , met later, said he hopes to serve the writ as soon as possible on Manohara and Daisy.

“I understand Manohara has a legal team here, and we hope to serve it to them here or in Jakarta,” he said.

“I urge Manohara and her mother to stop making such disparaging remarks about my client. Do not (hide behind) the media and make wild accusations. We welcome them to the Kuala Lumpur court to explain the situation.

He added that the court has not set a date for the hearing as yet.