The High Court in Kuala Lumpur today allowed an application by former deputy minister Razali Ibrahim to strike out an RM100 million defamation suit filed by Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd (SPSB) over his statement on the company's involvement in the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City Project (KLVC) at Jalan Semarak here.

Lawyer Chetan Jethwani, representing SPSB, informed reporters the decision was made in chambers by Justice Nik Hasmat Nik Mohamad on grounds that the statement by Razali was not defamatory.

A lawyer from Messrs Gideon Tan Razali Zaini, who represented Razali, confirmed the matter and said the court also ordered SPSB to pay the cost of RM3,000 to her client.

Razali, who is also former Muar MP, filed the application to strike out the suit in October last year on grounds that there was no reasonable cause of action for the property developer to sue him.

SPSB filed the suit on July 16 last year, claiming that Razali had issued several false and baseless statement on the company's involvement in the KLVC project at Jalan Semarak and that the action had tarnished the company’s reputation.

The company had sought RM100 million in damages and an apology as well as an injunction to prevent Razali from further repeating and/or publishing the defamatory statements.

Meanwhile, SPSB, in a media statement, said the company would appeal against today’s decision at the Court of Appeal.

- Bernama