The High Court in Kuala Terengganu has set May 18 for case management pertaining to the application by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang to set aside the RM2-million judgment against him in a defamation suit brought by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) member Mohd Shamsul Mat Amin.

Both Mohd Shamsul and Abdul Hadi were not present in court today. They were represented by lawyers, A Vasudevan and Asmuni Awi, respectively.  

Kuala Terengganu High Court deputy registrar Mohamad Nasrudin Mohamed set the date following an application filed by Asmuni to set aside the default judgment by the High Court here on Feb 23.

Speaking to reporters, Vasudevan said the case management date was set before the court fixed the trial date.

On Feb 23, the Kuala Terengganu High Court ordered Abdul Hadi to pay RM2 million to Mohd Shamsul in a default judgement after Abdul Hadi failed to enter his defence in a legal suit brought by the latter on Dec 5 last year.

In his suit, Mohd Shamsul contended that Abdul Hadi made the statement in the run-up to the 13th general election (GE13) as a ploy for PAS to field a candidate in the Bukit Besi state seat which eventually saw a three-cornered fight.

Mohd Shamsul claimed that Abdul Hadi’s allegation that there was a drug dealer among the PKR candidates in Terengganu in GE13 during a ‘ceramah’ (talk) in Kampung Tebakang, Alor Limbat, Marang, on April 22, 2013, had defamed him and his family and damaged his reputation as a PKR candidate and businessman.

- Bernama