Lim’s lawyer, Simranjit Kaur, said the hearing date was fixed by the appeals court at a case management today before deputy registrar Ahmad Fairuz Puzi.

She also said Apandi’s lawyer, M Visvanathan, had requested that the appeal be heard in open court.

Last year, the High Court held that Lim’s remarks, contained in an article titled “Dangerous fallacy to think Malaysia is on the road to integrity”, were not defamatory.

The court also awarded Lim RM80,000 in costs.

In her decision, Justice Azimah Omar, then a High Court judge, said Lim had proved his defences of fair comment and qualified privilege.

“It is well known that calls to investigate and charge those involved in the 1MDB scandal have been made through the proper channels for many years.

“A task force involving MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission), the police and the AGC (Attorney-General’s Chambers) was set up to investigate and make appropriate recommendations on 1MDB.

“It is apparent that this complaint (on wrongdoing) to proper channels has fallen on deaf ears, until the fall of Barisan Nasional,” she said.

Azimah pointed out that Lim was justified in questioning Apandi’s refusal to take action in the 1MDB matter.

“Indeed, the plaintiff’s (Apandi’s) action and inaction seemed to have assisted 1MDB and those involved.

“The defendant (Lim) had concrete evidence to justify his statement, and the evidence gave reasonable grounds to investigate the plaintiff for cover-ups in 1MDB,” she said.

Apandi filed his suit against Lim in July 2019, claiming that Lim’s statement depicted him as someone who was immoral and unethical, without integrity, and had practised double standards while holding the position of attorney-general.

Apandi was the attorney-general from 2015 to 2018.