The Shah Alam High Court will rule on Sept 4 whether to restrain a news portal from publishing defamatory statements implicating prominent businessman Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak in an alleged mining scandal in Sabah.
Farhash is suing MalaysiaNow and its editor, Abdar Rahman Koya, over a news report linking him to the award of an exploration licence by a Sabah government agency.
He is seeking an injunction to restrain the portal from publishing the report or other similar articles on the subject pending trial.
Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan said Justice Nor Hayati Haji Mat set the date after hearing submissions from both parties.
Rajesh, along with Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal and Amanda Sonia Mathew, represented MalaysiaNow and its editor in the proceedings.
Farhash claimed various statements in the report alleging that he owned Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd and that the company had been awarded a licence, were “false and defamatory”.
He also states that he is merely a director and shareholder of Bumi Suria.
Last Thursday, Farhash, Bumi Suria and businessman Aminudin Mustapha filed a RM10 million lawsuit against MalaysiaNow and its editor over the report.
The plaintiffs were represented by N Sivarajan, Sheena Stephanie Sebastian, R Aswath and Ezryl Azlyzan Ahmad Damanhuri.
