Anwar’s lawyer SN Nair said judicial commissioner Ros Mawar Rozain fixed the trial for Aug 5-7, 12-14, and 26-28 during a case management this afternoon.
Nair, who was assisted by Jaden Phoon in the proceeding, said the judge also directed parties to file all interlocutory applications by June 15.
He said another case management will be held on June 21 for further directions on the suit.
Lawyers Chetan Jethwani and Ivy Shu represented Muhyiddin.
The prime minister filed the suit in December over Muhyiddin’s claim that Anwar had received RM15 million from the Selangor government when serving as its economic adviser.
In his statement of claim, Anwar said Muhyiddin’s remarks were uttered on Dec 5 at a campaign event in support of PN candidate Azman Nasrudin at Taman Selasih, in Kulim, Kedah, during the run-up to the Padang Serai parliamentary election.
He said Muhyiddin’s remarks had depicted him as an unreliable and untruthful person. Anwar added it also gave the false impression that he was “a sinner, a liar, a greedy person, and a hypocrite”.
He is seeking general, compensatory, aggravated and exemplary damages from Muhyiddin due to “serious injury” to his reputation.
In his defence filed in January, Muhyiddin, a former prime minister himself, said Anwar ought not to take offence at legitimate criticism and queries posed during political speeches.
Given that they were both public figures and leaders of their respective parties, it was incumbent on them to frequently confront each other with various allegations, some of which may be misstated, misquoted or taken out of context by the media, Muhyiddin said.
In a reply filed in his defamation suit against Muhyiddin, Anwar said the Pagoh MP could not rely on the defence of qualified privilege because his remarks were untrue.
Anwar said Muhyiddin’s claim was slanderous and had been rebutted several years ago.
Anwar also noted that Muhyiddin’s defence had failed to disclose the identity of the Selangor government official who was said to have leaked information relating to the purported payment of RM15 million.
“The so-called officer is a fictitious person,” Anwar said in his reply.