Najib’s lawyer Hafarizam Harun said they were withdrawing the defamation suit as Najib needed to focus on “other pressing matters”.
“I advised him in view of the change in political landscape that we should all move on. He agreed. This is a good resolution for all of us,” he told reporters after meeting High Court judicial commissioner Darryl Goon in chambers to withdraw the suit.
The court also ordered Najib to pay Ling RM25,000 in costs as part of the withdrawal.
When asked about the status of Najib’s other defamation suits against Pakatan Harapan politicians like Tony Pua and Rafizi Ramli, Hafarizam said he would comment on these when the time came.
Meanwhile, Ling’s lawyer Ranjit Singh said the MCA veteran was also withdrawing his counter-claim against Najib.
“Tun (Ling) was sued before he made a statement that Najib had taken money from the people and is not fit to be prime minister.
“The election results have vindicated Tun, and the people have decided that Najib is not fit to lead them,” he said.
Najib filed the lawsuit against Ling in October 2015, after the former transport minister claimed Najib had misappropriated funds from 1MDB and placed them in his personal bank accounts.
Ling also filed a counter-suit against Najib that same year.
High Court judge Nor Bee Ariffin previously dismissed Ling’s bid to strike out the suit, and ordered a full trial for the court to decide whether Najib was suing in his personal capacity or as a public officer.