The hearing of an application by Malaysiakini to have High Court judge Kamaludin Mohd Said recuse himself from hearing a suit filed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak against the portal has been postponed.

This court granted the postponement today after Najib's lawyers said they needed time to reply to the supporting affidavits filed by Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd general manager K Manohar on Wednesday and served on them yesterday.

"The recusal application has now been fixed for Aug 17," Malaysiakini' s lawyer, Ashok Kandiah ( photo ) said.

The portal is seeking Justice Kamaludin's recusal on the grounds that he was transferred to the Seremban High Court on Jan 1 and that the suit against it is still undergoing case management.

Documents filed by the company state that it is not normal practice for a High Court judge in Seremban to hear a matter filed in Kuala Lumpur, that there is no special circumstance for this and that a hearing date for the suit has yet to be fixed.

Manohar's supporting affidavits state that the directive by the Chief Justice of Malaya for Justice Kamaludin to hear the suit was not in line or in accordance with the law or practice directions.

"The trial has yet to start and this application should have been heard before the civil division of the High Court. There is no basis for this judge to hear the suit which originated from the civil High Court.”

Menteri besar imbroglio

Justice Kamaludin was also initially slated to hear Najib's application to strike out Malaysiakini 's defence and counter-claim today.

On Monday, a separate judicial review application to challenge the Chief Judge of Malaya's decision to appoint Justice Kamaludin ( photo ) to hear the case was dismissed by High Court judge Asmabi Mohamad.

Justice Asmabi also ordered Malaysiakini  to pay costs of RM5,000.

Najib, along with Umno organising secretary Abdul Rauf Yusoh, had filed the suit against Malaysiakini  last year following two articles containing readers' comments over the Terengganu menteri besar imbroglio.

Besides the suit against  Malaysiakini , Najib has also filed a suit against PAS organ Harakah and against three opposition leaders - Tony Pua (Petaling Jaya Utara MP), Rafizi Ramli (Pandan MP) and Nga Kor Ming (Taiping MP).

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