SHAH ALAM, 19 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s defamation suit against former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd over statements relating to the murder of a Mongolian woman published in a book titled My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, was settled amicably at the High Court today.
The settlement was recorded before Judge Datuk Khadijah Idris after counsel for both parties informed the court that an amicable settlement had been reached.
Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, representing the former prime minister, said the settlement was reached by mutual agreement and should put an end to all rumours involving his client.
He said Thomas acknowledged that since the book’s publication in 2021, he was not aware of any evidence linking Najib to the death of Altantuya Shaariibuu.
“You can call it a win because there is no evidence as admitted by the defendants (Thomas and GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd)...so this should bring to a rest all the rumours," Shafee said at a media conference.
He added that Thomas has maintained his statement and opinion, as detailed in Chapter 42 of the book, that the statutory declarations of former Special Operations Unit (UTK) members Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar corroborated one another.
According to Thomas, if the book is reprinted or republished, the clarification should be included on the same page as the disputed passage, which currently appears on pages 404 and 405.
“In this situation, Thomas has no objection to the withdrawal of the above civil action against him and the publisher, without any order as to costs,” Shafee said, who also informed GB Gerakbudaya that he fully accepted what Thomas said.
As such, his client was very happy and grateful that, after years of facing pressure due to the lack of direct evidence and false rumours linking him to the murder case, the matter could finally be resolved through a settlement.
On October 11 last year, Najib testified that he never instructed Azilah and Sirul to kill Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006, as he had never met the Mongolian woman.
The former Pekan MP filed the suit in 2021, naming Thomas and GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd as the first and second defendants.
In his statement of claim, the 72-year-old claimed that Thomas had authored and caused the publication of the book, which allegedly linked him to Altantuya's murder.
Najib claimed that the book, published by the second defendant (Gerakbudaya) and distributed in the country at the end of January 2021, and subsequently worldwide, contained the defamatory statements that implied that he had ordered Azilah and Sirul to kill Altantuya and that he had confused the public over the murder to cover his tracks.
He contended that his reputation was affected by the publication of the defamatory statements, and sought general, aggravated and exemplary damages against both defendants, as well as an order for the defendants to remove the defamatory statements from the book.
