PAS today maintained it is not settling a defamation suit filed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak against its party mouthpiece Harakah over an article related to 1MDB and Najib's stepson Riza Aziz.

The party's representatives Wan Rohimi Wan Daud and Faizi Che Abu, said they officially informed this to Court of Appeal president Justice Md Raus Sharif today.

Following this, Justice Raus fixed March 7, next year to hear Najib's appeal to amend his statement of claim to include attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali's press statement on Jan 26, in clearing the PM of the RM2.6 billion found in his account and also the PM's application to have the case go on without calling witnesses.

The appeal would be heard at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya.

Wan Rohimi told Malaysiakini that the United States Department of Justice court action filed in July, had strengthened PAS' case and that was the reason it was not settling with Najib.

Meanwhile, Najib's lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun, when met said that despite this, he extended the settlement proposal to PAS until March 7.

“My client is magnanimous to settle with PAS as he is also going to be seen on Sunday to be on the same stage with PAS president Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang for the Rohingya cause.

“I do hope the top (PAS) party leadership will reciprocate as anything can happen before March 7,” he told reporters.

Parties have been asked to explore the possibility of settlement at the Court of Appeal last July 11.

This followed the Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Justice Hue Siew Kheng dismissing Najib's application to amend his statement of claim to include Apandi's statement and also the PM's application to have the case go on without calling witnesses including himself.

Najib had filed the suit on March 18 last year, where he named Harakah managing director Rosli Yaakop and Harakahdaily chief editor Taufek Yahya as defendants.

In his statement of claim, the prime minister said the article portrayed him as having misused 1MDB funds and that the publication of the article was intended to tarnish his reputation.

The article was based on a report which appeared in the New York Times.