Sept trial for DAP heavyweights' suit against PAS MP

DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng and two other party heavyweights' defamation suits against PAS lawmaker Siti Mastura Muhammad are set for a six-day full trial in September.

Counsel Sankara Nair, who is acting for Guan Eng as well as DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, confirmed the trial dates for the civil action over allegations that the trio have blood ties with a communist and a former Singapore prime minister.

"The (Georgetown High) Court has fixed all three suits for trial on Sept 2, 3, 17, 18, 19 and 20.

"The next case management is fixed on May 15 for parties to update on the status of filing of the pre-trial documents," the lawyer told Malaysiakini today.

On Nov 27 last year, Guan Eng, Kit Siang and Teresa filed their civil actions against Siti Mastura (above).

The three lawsuits are over the defendant’s speech at a Kemaman by-election campaign event at Dewan Berlian, Majlis Perbandaran Kemaman, on Nov 4, last year.

Siti Mastura had claimed that the three DAP leaders were related to Communist Party of Malaya leader Ong Boon Hua, popularly known by his nom de guerre Chin Peng, and Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

The plaintiffs seek general, compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as an injunction to restrain the defendant from further uttering the allegation.

Previously, the media reported Siti Mastura in her statement of defence claiming that her remarks, made at a political ceramah late last year, were based on legitimate “facts” contained in a handbook, which she said was a reliable source.

However, in the DAP trio's reply filed in court, the plaintiffs contended that doctorate holder Siti Mastura should have double-checked and not relied on a debunked source over the blood ties allegation.

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