Eizlan’s lawyer, Shaharudin Ali, said the court had decided on the matter after both parties failed to settle the case through mediation.

He said the court had yet to set the trial dates but case management had been scheduled for Oct 28 through Zoom before judge Azimah Omar.

Isaac, 50, also known as Gerald Hans Isaac, was represented by lawyer Isa Aziz Ibrahim.

In his statement of claim, filed on Feb 8, Eizlan, 50, whose real name is Idris Md Yusof, alleged that Isaac had written, published and posted a defamatory statement to the Persatuan Penerbit Filem Malaysia group chat and then shared with other social media platforms.

He claimed that the statement, among others, insinuated that he took advantage of his position as a Finas board member to illegally obtain financial assistance from the government for Excellent Pictures Sdn Bhd (EPSB), while he had nothing to do with the company in any capacity.

He claimed the remarks had caused him to lose his dignity, and he was insulted and shunned by the public.

Eizlan is seeking, among others, RM2 million in general damages as well as aggravated and exemplary damages, interest and costs and an apology.

Isaac, in his statement of defence filed on March 17, said Eizlan’s claim that he had nothing to do with EPSB was not true.

He said although Eizlan did not hold any post or shares in EPSB, he had acted in films and drama series produced by the company.

Isaac also said the chat group in question was restricted and any information attributed to it was the responsibility of the group admin.