The hearing of Umno supreme council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan's defamation suit against PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli has been fixed for trial for three days beginning Sep 3.

The date was fixed by Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Justice Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab in chambers today.

Malaysiakini was informed of the date by Rafizi's lawyer William Leong following case management.

Rafizi was sued over claims about Expo Negaraku, which was organised by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

Rafizi alleged that Rahman – who headed the EPU at the time – awarded the RM37 million project to a “brother” due to bearing a similar name to the former minister.

However, Rahman pointed out that the contractor was not his relative, prompting an open apology from Rafizi to the contractor.

The Jan 30 lawsuit seeks an injunction from the court against Rafizi's allegations, as well as a published apology.

Rahman is also seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages, besides costs.