Mohamad Salleh Ismail told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today the allegation made by Nurul Izzah Anwar that he had purchased eight units of properties at KL Eco City, Bangsar, was clearly malicious.

Mohamad Salleh, who is executive chairperson of the National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFC), said Nurul Izzah never checked nor bothered to verify the truth of her allegation with the developer KL Eco City Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Public Bank Berhad.

"She also never verified the truth with me or with my wife Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. If she had at least bothered to do this, I believe that the press conference on March 7, 2012 would never have been held," he said.

Mohamad Salleh was testifying at the hearing of his defamation suit against Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament Nurul Izzah ( photo ) and the then-PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution, as defendants.

He said Nurul Izzah was able to use the vast network of her public office to enquire the truth of the matter but she deliberately chose not to do so.

"By doing so, she would have certainly uncover the falsity of the statements made and published," he said.

Questioned by his counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Mohamad Salleh said he did not receive any loan from Public Bank Berhad for the purchase of the eight property units.

"The allegation that I used money from the National Feedlot Centre to purchase the properties was real malice," he said.

'Irresponsible and malicious'

In his witness statement tendered to the court, Mohamad Salleh said Nurul Izzah was irresponsible and malicious when she agreed with and supported the statement made by Mohd Rafizi Ramli.

"The allegation that my wife had any knowledge about the KL Eco City project was completely false, untrue and maliciously uttered by Nurul Izzah," he said.

Mohamad Salleh also said his wife did not have any knowledge and access to the development of the KL Eco City project.

On Dec 24 2013, Mohamad Salleh and NFC sued Nurul Izzah over a statement she made relating to Mohd Rafizi's claim that he had bought eight units of properties at KL Eco City with public funds allocated to NFC.

Nurul Izzah's alleged statement was aired by Malaysiakini TV on March 7, 2012.

 In his statement of claim, Mohamad Salleh said the statement implied that he and his family had misappropriated NFC funds to buy the properties for their personal use and not for the company.

 The hearing before Judge Hue Siew Kheng continues on Sept 23.

- Bernama