PUTRAJAYA (April 8): The Federal Court has set May 14 to hear former attorney general (AG) Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s application to obtain leave to pursue an appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision in dismissing his RM10 million defamation lawsuit against DAP veteran Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang.

His lawyer M Visvanathan confirmed the hearing date when contacted by Bernama on Monday.

Apandi filed the application on Dec 1 last year, after losing his appeal in the Court of Appeal on Nov 2.

He wants the Federal Court to determine five legal questions.

The suit against the DAP veteran over an article on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal was dismissed by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on May 23, 2022.

Lim, a DAP veteran. (Photo by Zahid Izzani/The Edge)

In his suit, filed in 2019, Apandi claimed that on May 6, 2019, Lim wrote and caused to be published an article titled “Dangerous fallacy to think Malaysia’s on the road to integrity” on Malaysiakini.

The ex-AG said that the alleged libellous words in the article implied that he was involved in crime and abetted in the 1MDB financial scandal, was a person with no morals and integrity, was unethical, and abused his power when he was the AG.

Apandi, who was the AG from July 27, 2015 to June 4, 2018, contended that the libellous words were untrue, and written to tarnish his image and credibility for cheap publicity.

He sought aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as RM10 million in general damages, an injunction to prevent Lim and/or his agents from publishing the alleged defamatory words again, and other relief deemed fit by the court.

High Court judge Datuk Azimah Omar, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, in dismissing Apandi’s suit, ruled that Lim succeeded in justifying his qualified privileges when making those statements, as the 1MDB scandal involves criminality, illegalities and social and economic repercussions for the nation’s economy, as well as the morality of the nation’s top leaders and agencies.