In dismissing the application, a three-man Court of Appeal bench led by David Wong Dak Wah said Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd and two Malaysiakini editors had not reached the “threshold of real danger of bias”.

Wong also awarded RM5,000 in costs to Najib and Umno executive secretary Ab Rauf Yusoh.

Lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun, who represented the two, earlier told the bench that judge Kamaludin Md Said was not prejudiced as he was not involved in the mediation to allow parties to settle the suit out of court.

He said the Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin had also absolute discretion in allowing Kamaludin to hear the suit despite the judge being transferred from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban.

“As a High Court judge of Malaya, Kamaludin could hear the case even if he was transferred to another town but in the same jurisdiction,” he said.

Hafarizam later told reporters a case management would be held before Kamaludin in Seremban on Friday.

“The plaintiffs (Najib and Rauf) have also applied to strike out Mkini Dotcom’s defence and enter judgment without trial,” he said.

Counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar submitted there was bias from the view of a layman as why Kamaludin was allowed to hear the case which was in the early stage of proceedings.

Najib and Umno are suing Mkini Dotcom, Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan, former chief editor Fathi Aris Omar for compilation of readers’ comments in two ‘Yoursay’ articles published on May 14 – ‘A case of the PM reaping what he sows ’ and ‘How much will Najib spend to keep Terengganu?’.

They claimed the news portal had marred their reputation and that UMNO was incompetent as a political body and as the backbone of the Barisan Nasional.