Dzulkefly’s lawyer SN Nair said his client, who is also health minister, had withdrawn the suit without liberty to file afresh.

“Details of the settlement have been kept private and confidential,” he told reporters after meeting sessions court judge Norakhmar Sani in her chambers to record the outcome.

Nair said the judge then vacated the trial dates scheduled for the entire week.

Asyraf’s lawyer Shahrul Fazli Kamarulzaman also confirmed the matter.

“The judge also expressed her appreciation to the parties for resolving the matter without a trial,” he added.

On April 12, 2022, Dzulkefly filed a lawsuit against Asyraf, accusing him of posting defamatory content on his Twitter account on Aug 24, 2020, which was also shared on the Umno leader’s Facebook page.

In the statement of claim, Dzulkefly said the post suggested he had engaged in cronyism and nepotism – specifically over his daughter’s appointment to the Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) board – implying that Dzulkefly misused his power and position as health minister from 2018 to 2020.

Dzulkefly said the claims were baseless because at the time his daughter was appointed, AIM was overseen by a Barisan Nasional government-appointed board of trustees and he was not a minister then.

He sought compensation for general damages, aggravated damages and exemplary damages, as well as an injunction to prevent the defendant from reposting or spreading the defamatory content.

Dzulkefly also wanted Asyraf to publish a written apology through a medium of the former’s choice.

Asyraf contended that the post was not made with any malicious intent to harm the plaintiff’s reputation or integrity.