Harakah reporter Aziz Muda, editor-in-chief Wan Nordin Wan Yaacob and Galeri Media Serbanika Sdn Bhd, operator of the online portal harakahdaily.net were named in the suit.

In their statement of defence filed on Sept 28, the three defendants said Mujahid should not be offended by the criticisms hurled at him by the public, especially the media practitioners, in connection with the issue.

Sajat had performed the umrah dressed in female prayer garments earlier this year, creating a controversy.

“The defendants asserted that they were under political, moral and social obligations to disseminate the different views of the people pertaining to the issue as it also involved the concepts of Rahmatan Lil Alamin (Mercy to all creations) and Amar Maaruf Nahi Mungkar (enjoining good and preventing evil),” the defendants said in their statement of defence, which was available to the media by their lawyer Yusfarizal Yussoff today.

The three defendants said they never had any malicious intent against the former minister in the publication of the article as it was based on fair comments.

Mujahid’s lawyer Noorazmir Zakaria said the plaintiff had also responded to the defendants’ statement of defence last Friday.

Mujadi filed the defamation suit on Aug 12 and named Aziz, Wan Nordin, Galeri Media and the newspaper’s printer, Percetakan Turbo (M) Sdn Bhd, as the first to fourth defendants.

He alleged that defamatory words against him were published in an article entitled “Sajat: Mujahid dan K’jaan PH patut dipersalahkan” and another one entitled “Keterlanjuran Sajat kesilapan Mujahid dan kerajaan PH” published in Harakah on Feb 10-13.

Mujahid, who is MP for Parit Buntar, seeks a public apology, a retraction of the articles, and damages.