Court Dismisses Dzulkefly's Bid To Recuse JC Arziah From Defamation Suit

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- The High Court here today dismissed Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad’s application to recuse Judicial Commissioner (JC) Arziah Mohamed Apandi from presiding over his defamation suit against former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, which concerns a Facebook post alleging cronyism.

In delivering her decision, JC Arziah held that the plaintiff had failed to demonstrate any real danger of bias arising from her prior case management directions or from the fact that she is the daughter of former Attorney General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali.

"The relationship is between my father and the defendant (Najib), not between myself and any party. There is no evidence of any continuing relationship between my father and the defendant beyond a brief court appearance as a witness in 2019.

"My father ceased to hold office at the AGC in 2018, which is seven years ago. Any connection to this litigation is tenuous and historical," she said.

Arziah further stated that the court found no evidence of actual bias or circumstances that would lead a reasonable observer to conclude it exists.

"The application is accordingly dismissed," she said.

On April 14 this year, Dzulkefly filed an application to recuse Arziah, citing alleged bias stemming from remarks made by the JC during case management proceedings held on March 7 and April 7.

He contended that those remarks, which touched on the possibility of striking out the matter, gave rise to actual bias or, at a minimum, a perception of bias.

Dzulkefly further argued that JC Arziah’s position as the daughter of former Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, who was appointed to the post in 2016 by the defendant, Najib, also raised grounds for actual bias or a reasonable apprehension of bias.

Counsel Stanley Sabastien Sinnappen appeared for Dzulkefly, while Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee represented Najib.

Dzulkefly filed the defamation suit in his personal capacity in January 2022, alleging that Najib had published a defamatory Facebook post on Aug 24, 2020, relating to allegations of cronyism.

The post was accompanied by a screenshot of a Sinar Harian article dated Jan 28, 2019, which featured the plaintiff’s photograph.

The plaintiff alleged that the impugned statement implied, among other things, that he engaged in cronyism by awarding positions or appointments to relatives without any objective assessment of their qualifications or suitability for roles in government or private entities.

He further claimed that the defendant had published the statement with the intent to attack his character, degrade and humiliate him, and that the post was politically motivated with the express purpose of defaming him and tarnishing his reputation.

In his statement of defence filed on March 29, 2022, Najib contended that the Facebook post in question, which touched on the issue of cronyism, did not refer to Dzulkefly personally but was directed at the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

-- BERNAMA