Adnan Yaakob's suit against Utusan settled out of court

KUALA LUMPUR: The defamation suit filed by Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob against Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd (Utusan Melayu) over an article "Hebat Sangatkah Adnan" has been resolved in an out of court settlement.
High Court judge Datuk Nik Hasmat Nik Mohamad recorded the consent judgment in chambers in the presence of Adnan and Utusan Group Editor-in-Chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak, who represented Utusan Melayu.
The case had been fixed for hearing for four days beginning today, but both parties agreed to settle the matter through mediation and the process began last Friday.
The mediation process was attended by lawyers Manjeet Singh Dhillon and Americk Singh Sidhu, who represented Adnan, and lawyers Datuk M. Reza Hassan and Azhar Arman Ali, for Utusan Melayu.
Based on the consent judgment which was distributed to the media, Utusan Melayu agreed to publish a statement to clarify publication of the article "'Hebat Sangatkah Adnan" on page two of the Utusan Malaysia newspaper tomorrow.
It also agreed to arrange an interview with Adnan within a week from today's judgment on his success in helming the Pahang government for four terms and his aspiration for Pahang.
"The contents of the interview will be published in the Utusan Malaysia newspaper after the interview and after obtaining the plaintiff's consent," it said.
Last Feb 13, the Federal Court ordered Adnan's suit to be remitted to the High Court for trial as evidence had yet to be established at the High Court on whether the lawsuit was brought by Adnan in his personal or official capacity.
The Federal Court made the decision after allowing Adnan's appeal to reverse the decision of the appellate court on March 1 last year in striking out his civil suit against the publisher of the Malay newspaper.
The Court of Appeal held that Adnan, as Pahang Mentri Besar and an elected representative, did not have the locus standi (legal standing) to sue Utusan Melayu for defamation in his official capacity over the article published by the newspaper company.
Adnan filed the suit on Nov 9, 2014. — Bernama