Lawyer Haikaldin Mahyidin, who appeared for Rewcastle Brown, said the date was finalised after an online case management before deputy registrar Zuhrina Nor.
“The parties are to file their written submissions by Aug 23, and their replies by Sept 7,” he told FMT.
Lawyer S Manisha appeared for Sultanah Nur Zahirah.
On Oct 31 last year, judicial commissioner Johan Abdullah ruled that a statement in Rewcastle Brown’s book, “The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose”, was not defamatory.
The impugned statement read: “(Fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low) was also friendly with a key player in Terengganu, the wife of the sultan, whose acquiescence was needed to set up the fund, and he later cited her support as having been crucial to his obtaining the advisory position.”
“I see no defamatory imputation from the statements, although there was obviously a matter of mistaken identity. Thus, the plaintiff’s case is hereby dismissed,” he said.
Publisher Chong Ton Sin and printer Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd were the other defendants named in the suit.
The sultanah had initiated a RM100 million defamation suit in 2018, claiming Rewcastle Brown had made a disparaging statement about her in the book.
She claimed the statement suggested that she was involved in corrupt practices and had interfered in the state’s administration, besides using her status to influence the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), as 1MDB was formerly known.
She also alleged that the statement could be construed to mean that she had helped Low secure his position as adviser to TIA.
In her defence, Rewcastle Brown claimed that she had made an “honest mistake” when identifying the “key player” in the impugned statement as the “wife of the sultan”. She claimed that she ought to have referred to the sultan’s sister instead.
Despite the factual error, the judge said Rewcastle Brown’s statement that the sultanah consented or agreed to the establishment of the sovereign wealth fund did not lower her reputation in any way.
He said a person would not be discredited simply because he or she supported someone for a job, especially given that such support, including by way of letter, was very much part of Malaysian culture.
Moreover, Johan said, it was Low himself who claimed he had the support of the sultanah for the position.