PM's ex-aide discontinues injunction bid against former Umno leader

Summary

• Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s former aide Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak discontinues his injunction application against former Umno information chief Isham Jalil.

• The plaintiff currently has a RM1 million defamation suit against the defendant over a cronyism allegation involving purported investment worth nearly RM40 million in a company shortlisted for a government contract.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s former aide has discontinued an injunction bid against former Umno information chief Isham Jalil.

Plaintiff Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak initially sought the restraining order to maintain the status quo in his ongoing RM1 million defamation suit against the defendant.

The civil action is over a cronyism allegation involving a purported investment worth nearly RM40 million in a company shortlisted for a government contract.

The application to discontinue was recorded in Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain’s chambers this morning, with the civil suit set for full trial in September next year.

When met by the media after chamber proceedings, legal teams for both Farhash (above) and Isham confirmed the outcome, adding that the bid to discontinue was due to there being no urgency in the matter.

Counsel Aswath Ramakrishnan and Chetan Jethwani, who acted for the plaintiff and defendant respectively, said the civil court has also set April 23 for case management to set dates for mediation.

Farhash is suing Isham over a video uploaded to TikTok on March 17 last year, titled “Kroni Anwar beli saham syarikat disenarai pendek kontrak imigresen RM1 bilion?” (Anwar’s crony purchases shares of company shortlisted for RM1 billion immigration contract?)

Isham later lodged a police report to initiate an investigation into the allegation.

‘Crony capitalism’

Earlier in March last year, The Straits Times reported that Farhash emerged as a substantial shareholder of technology services provider HeiTech Padu, which is running for a billion-ringgit immigration system deal.

The report also stated that Farhash and his partner acquired a 4.97 percent stake in Theta Edge, a competitor of HeiTech Padu.

Farhash has dismissed concerns of “crony capitalism” following the report.

After issuing the letter of demand against Isham, Farhash filed the writ of summons in the civil court against the defendant.

Through the defamation suit, Farhash claimed that the social media posting contained untrue and malicious allegations.

The plaintiff is seeking multiple reliefs, among them RM1 million in general damages and an order for the defendant to retract the alleged defamatory online posting and to make a public apology.

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