GEORGE TOWN: The defamation suits brought by DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Teresa Kok will proceed to trial after mediation talks with Kepala Batas MP Siti Mastura Muhammad failed.
Lawyer SN Nair, representing the trio, said the parties could not reach a settlement over the suits filed against the PAS MP.
“No agreements were reached. We will proceed to trial,” Nair told FMT.
The trial is scheduled for six days in September at the High Court here. Justice Quay Chew Soon had advised the parties to enter into mediation on Feb 15, ahead of the trial.
Kit Siang and Guan Eng filed suits against Mastura in the High Court last November for alleging they had blood ties with former Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng and late Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Mastura is alleged to have made the remarks during a speech in Kemaman, Terengganu, on Nov 4.
In her defence, Mastura said the facts were sourced from a book published by the Barisan Nasional communications department as part of the coalition’s 15th general election campaign material.
She also cited the same source for her claims that Kit Siang and Guan Eng were Lee’s cousins, and that Kok is a cousin of Betty Chew, Guan Eng’s wife.
In response to her defence, Kit Siang, Guan Eng and Kok said the “so-called campaign material had been debunked by BN deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan and former Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil” in a news report dated Nov 11, 2023.
The DAP trio said Mastura, who holds a PhD, should have conducted due diligence by checking the facts before making the remarks.
