The former prime minister’s counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said Thomas had replied to their letter of demand (LOD) yesterday and said he did not defame Najib.

“The publisher, namely GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd, has not replied to our LOD. We are going to file a defamation suit against both Thomas and the publisher as soon as possible,” said Shafee.

On Feb 2, Najib, in the LOD sent through his solicitor, Messrs Shafee & Co, demanded an apology and RM10 million in damages from Thomas over allegations against him in the book.

In the letter, Najib also gave Thomas until noon yesterday to provide a satisfactory reply, failing which legal proceedings would be taken against him.

He also demanded an apology and an unequivocal public retraction of the alleged defamatory statement in Chapter 42 under the title “Altantuya” in the book.

He said that by clear inference and innuendo, Thomas had conveyed the message that he, as the then attorney-general and public prosecutor, was satisfied with the truthfulness of the allegations by two convicted persons that Najib was involved in directing them to murder Altantuya.

The statement was clearly motivated by mala fide and principally done in Thomas’ selfish pursuit of seeking cheap publicity, fuelled by his ego, sensationalism and profiteering, he said.