Former International Islamic University law lecturer Dr Abdul Aziz Bari has filed a defamation suit against a Member of Parliament (MP) and Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd.  

Aziz named Kulim-Bandar Baru MP Zulkifili Noordin, who is also a lawyer; Abdul Aziz Ishak, group editor-in chief of Utusan Malaysia and also Mingguan Malaysia ; and Utusan Melayu as defendants.    

He filed the suit through the law firm of M/s Mohamed Hanipa & Associates at the Kuala Lumpur Civil High Court Registry on Dec 22 last year.

A copy of the statement of claim was made available to the media today.  

Lawyer Azhana Mohd Khairudin, who is representing Aziz, told reporters that High Court deputy registrar Norhatini Abdul Hamid set Feb 10 for case management after meeting the parties in chambers today.     

Aziz alleged that on Oct 17, 2011, Zulkifli had uttered defamatory words against him, which were published a day later in an article in Utusan Malaysia .        

He claims that the words referred to him directly because his name and designation were specifically mentioned in the article.  

The natural and ordinary meaning of the words meant that he was, among others, a rude and uncouth individual and a law professor who was not fit to be a law lecturer.  

Aziz is seeking general, exemplary and aggravated damages with costs, apology and a retraction of the statements by the defendants.