SNAPSHOT | Azalina: Let N Sembilan find own solution to royal crisis; Anwar, Awang settle defamation case

KINI SNAPSHOT | What’s going on in the news today, with updates at 9am, 2pm, 6pm, and 9pm.

2pm 

N Sembilan royal crisis

• Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said has urged all parties to refer to the Negeri Sembilan constitution in resolving the state’s administrative crisis.
  
  Azalina (above) said Negeri Sembilan’s unique Adat Perpatih system meant that any decision must respect both the state constitution and the Federal Constitution.

  “I do not want to take sides on who is right or wrong, but any decision or action must refer to the principal law, which is the state constitution.
  
  “Let the people of Negeri Sembilan find their own solution. This is my personal view,” the Umno information chief was quoted as saying by Bernama in Kuala Lumpur today.

READ MORE: COMMENT | Assault on constitutional sovereignty of N Sembilan monarchy, rule of law

Court

• Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has settled his defamation suit against Pendang MP Awang Hashim, with the latter unreservedly withdrawing the statements at the centre of the dispute.
  
  Anwar withdrew the suit without liberty to refile it, and the Kuala Lumpur High Court made no order as to costs, Free Malaysia Today reported. 
  
  Judicial commissioner Roslan Mat Nor subsequently struck out the suit and vacated next month’s trial dates.

  

  In a joint statement, Awang (above, left) also agreed not to repeat the remarks or publish statements carrying a similar meaning.
  
  Anwar sued Awang in March 2023 over remarks allegedly made outside Parliament concerning his appointment as prime minister and claims of selective prosecution.

• The Court of Appeal today rejected Rosmah Mansor’s application for an unconditional stay of a High Court order requiring her to pay about RM67.5 million to Lebanese jeweller Global Royalty Trading SAL.

  

  
  FMT reported that a three-member bench chaired by judge Firuz Jaffril found that the wife of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had not shown sufficient grounds for the stay, pending her appeal on March 25 next year. She was ordered to pay RM30,000 in costs.
  
  Rosmah had previously secured a conditional stay requiring the full judgment sum to be deposited in a joint account held by both parties’ lawyers.

READ MORE: Rosmah ordered to deposit RM67.46m payout to jeweller into stakeholders' account in 1 month

• The Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed RimbaWatch’s judicial review applications against two ministries over alleged failure to investigate the “misleading” marketing of a fossil fuel product as “carbon neutral”.
  
  The environmental watchdog’s lawyer, Kumaresan Thurairaju, said judge Azizan Arshad delivered the decision in chambers without ordering costs. The group intends to appeal and request the grounds of judgment, FMT reported. 
  
  RimbaWatch filed complaints last year with the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry and the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, arguing that the claims could undermine consumer and climate protection.

Football

• Former Kelantan Football Association (Kafa) president Annuar Musa said he has no plans to contest the association’s top post again, preferring a younger leader to take charge.
  
  Annuar suggested FAM vice-president Rosmadi Ismail as a potential candidate, saying Kafa’s next president must be passionate about football and committed to strengthening development programmes, Berita Harian reported.
  
  The PAS central committee member also called for Kafa’s leadership election to be expedited so the long-inactive association could resume managing grassroots football. Kafa is expected to hold a leadership election in December. 

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