KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 9 — The defamation suit filed by former environment and water minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man against former economy minister Datuk Seri Mohd Rafizi Ramli was amicably resolved at the High Court today.
Tuan Ibrahim filed the suit on November 17, 2022, over statements allegedly defamatory in nature concerning the approval of several projects, including a flood mitigation project awarded to a company.
During the proceeding before Judicial Commissioner Avinder Singh Gill, lawyer Yusfarizal Yussoff, representing Tuan Ibrahim, said both parties had reached an out-of-court settlement.
“Under the agreed terms, the plaintiff (Tuan Ibrahim) has applied to withdraw the suit without liberty to refile and with no order as to costs,” he said.
This was confirmed by lawyer Azhar Arman Ali, representing Rafizi.
Following this, Avinder struck out the suit and vacated the previously scheduled trial dates.
“The court expresses its appreciation for the serious efforts made by both parties to reach an amicable settlement out of court,” he said.
The court had previously fixed September 8 to September 12 for the case hearing.
Meanwhile, a joint statement issued by Rafizi and Tuan Ibrahim said that both parties had agreed to remove all social media posts under Rafizi's control related to the matter to prevent the issue from being prolonged and to avoid any misinterpretation by the public.
“Given that the issue of Tuan Ibrahim’s alleged involvement in the award of the Sungai Langat 2 flood mitigation project worth RM2 billion to Mangkubumi Sdn Bhd was not the main focus of Rafizi’s earlier media statements, the matter no longer arises between the parties.
“Tuan Ibrahim has agreed to withdraw this civil suit,” read the statement.
Both parties also agreed that, in the spirit of amicable settlement, any disagreements or misunderstandings that had arisen should be set aside for the sake of public interest, social harmony, and political stability in the country.
Both politicians, who were present in court today, were also seen shaking hands before leaving the courtroom.
In his statement of claim, Tuan Ibrahim alleged that Rafizi made defamatory statements against him at two press conferences at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat headquarters in Petaling Jaya, which were streamed live on the defendant’s YouTube account, on November 7 and November 9, 2022.
He claimed that the statements implied that he was involved in approving a project worth RM2 billion to a company for the Sungai Langat Flood Mitigation Plan, as well as a sewage treatment plant and sewerage pipe network project in Kinta and Petaling Jaya, totalling more than RM2.3 billion.
He was also accused of secretly conspiring with the then-prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in awarding projects under the Jana Wibawa Programme.
