KUALA LUMPUR: Former Tourism Minister Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir's RM70 million defamation suit against cosmetics entrepreneur Datuk Seri Aliff Syukri Kamaruzaman, allegedly over unpaid investment debts up to millions of ringgit, will go to trial in January 2026.

High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh today set a three-day trial from Jan 6 during case management proceedings after hearing from counsels representing Abdul Kadir, 85, and Aliff Syukri, 37, who are plaintiff and defendant respectively in the suit.

Abdul Kadir's counsel T. Dheenish told the court that his client would be the sole witness to testify in the trial of the suit filed in September last year.

He added there was a possibility that journalists from news portals that carried Aliff Syukri's allegations which originated from his Facebook and Instagram posts would also be called to testify.

Defence counsel, Mohd Tajudin Abd Razak, said Aliff Syukri and his businesswoman wife, Datin Seri Nur Shahida Mohd Rashid, would testify in the trial.

Judge Ahmad Shahrir set July 15 for case management.

In his statement of claim, Abdul Kadir said Aliff Syukri, on July 2 last year, had on his Instagram and Facebook posts published statements demanding him to pay up tens of millions of ringgit.

Abdul Kadir said the posts which carried his picture and the words were meant and understood to mean that he was indebted to Aliff Syukri, when in fact and in reality, he was not at all.

He said Aliff Syukri's offensive words and defamatory statements were deliberate, careless and recklessly caused great damage to his character, reputation and image, which had caused considerable distress, embarrassment and exposed him to public scandal, contempt and odium.

Aside from the RM70 million for libel, Abdul Kadir, had among others sought for a mandatory injunction against Aliff Syukri to retract or remove the libel published as well as an order to publish an unconditional statement of apology on his social media accounts.

In Aliff Syukri's defence case summary, he said he was personally and directly involved in a 2018 joint venture agreement consisting of Abdul Kadir and two companies, where he had paid RM30 million as investment, and the latter had full knowledge of the payment.

He claimed there were terms of investment return payments but parties failed to adhere to the agreement to pay the monies he had invested and Abdul Kadir were aware of the breaches.

He alleged that Abdul Kadir became difficult to contact as he refused, was careless and or neglected to pay him the money as promised and it had become a debt to him as well as other parties in the agreement.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2024/04/1038682/ex-ministers-rm70-mil-defamation-suit-against-aliff-syukri-set