Mazlan Ismail tendered his apology to the High Court, admitting that he had not verified the claim before calling a press conference on the matter.

“I was referring to the letter that I received, stating that Anwar paid RM50 million to the legal firm of the late Karpal Singh to bribe judges and prosecutors.

“I realised that my statement was published by TV3 and Utusan Melayu on Aug 2 and 3, 2013.

“Allegations of corruption are serious, and I regret not verifying the claim,” he said when reading his apology from the witness stand before judicial commissioner Faizah Jamaludin.

Mazlan also admitted that his statement had created a negative image of Anwar.

“Therefore, I retract my statement on Anwar and apologise to him. I will not repeat my statement again,” he said.

Anwar was seen shaking hands with Mazlan after the latter finished reading his apology.

The PKR president-elect filed a lawsuit against Mazlan, TV3 and Utusan Malaysia over the news report claiming he had paid his lawyer, Karpal, more than RM50 million since 2008 as legal fees and bribes to judges and prosecutors.

Karpal, who was Anwar’s lead counsel in the Sodomy 2 case, was killed in a car accident on April 17, 2014.

Anwar was acquitted of sodomy by the High Court in 2012, but the acquittal was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2014 and he was sentenced to five years in jail.

He was released on a royal pardon after the May 9 polls.

Anwar said at the time the statement was made, he had been the opposition leader and Permatang Pauh MP. He said the allegation put him in low esteem in the eyes of the public.

He also said the statement by the defendants implied that he was a politician who lacked integrity, was of low morals and was unfit to hold public office as he offered bribes.

Faizah set Oct 12 as the next date to update the court on the terms of settlement with TV3 and Utusan Malaysia.