The video was over the tabling of amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 in the Dewan Rakyat which sought to increase punishments for shariah offences.
“The court had earlier set the trial dates but maintained them despite speculation that the general election will be held soon,” Pua’s lawyer Tan Cheng Leong told reporters after a case management before justice Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab.
On April 21 last year, Najib filed his writ and statement of claim, stating that on April 6, Pua had made a defamatory statement in the vicinity of the Parliament building.
Lawyer Nor Hazira Abu Hayan, who appeared for Najib today, said Attorney-General (AG) Mohamed Apandi Ali and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officials would be among the five witnesses to give evidence for the prime minister.
She said Pua would likely call 15 witnesses.
In the statement of claim, Najib said the recording was uploaded on Pua’s Facebook page “Tony Pua”, with the title “BN abandons all bills to give precedence to PAS RUU355 private member’s bill”.
Najib said the live video was directed at him and was done with malice and bad intention to defame him.
He said Pua had slandered him by virtue of the public office he held.
He is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages as well as an injunction to prevent Pua or his agents from publishing further statements that are defamatory.
Najib also wants Pua to publish an unconditional apology in at least two newspapers.
The video clip was uploaded shortly after PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s motion on amendments to the Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 was tabled.
Pua is relying on the defence of justification, qualified privilege and fair comment as he “had the honest and absolute belief that the impugned words were true and will be proved in trial”.
He claimed the tabling of the private member’s bill by Hadi, who is Marang MP, was a ruse by Najib to divert public attention from the 1MDB scandal.
Meanwhile, Tan said the Federal Court had fixed May 18 to hear Pua’s leave application to appeal against a Court of Appeal ruling that the opposition MP was prohibited from uploading the video again on his Facebook pending the outcome of the defamation suit.
The appellate court said an interim injunction given to Najib over the video was maintained because Pua’s defence did not hold.
Justice Yaacob Md Sam said this was because Apandi had cleared Najib of any criminal offence in relation to the so-called 1MDB scandal.
He said the appellate court was of the view that High Court judge Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab did not err in fact or law in exercising his discretion in favour of allowing the injunction against Pua.
Appeals court says Najib deserves injunction against Pua’s video