MALAYSIAN Anti-Corruption Commission chief Azam Baki has withdrawn a defamation suit against journalist Lalitha Kunaratnam two years after filing it, Malaysiakini reports.
Azam filed a notice of discontinuance on June 11 and the Kuala Lumpur High Court subsequently vacated the July 9 trial date.
The suit was filed in January 2022 over an allegation concerning Azam’s ownership of shares in two public-listed companies.
He had demanded RM10 million in damages and a public apology for two articles Lalitha wrote in 2021.
Azam’s lawyer, Megat Abdul Munir had said then that the suit was filed after Lalitha had failed to respond to a letter of demand issued on January 6, 2022.
Megat said the suit was over articles published in the Independent News Service on October 26 and December 15, 2021.
Azam had come under scrutiny after Lalitha’s articles revealed that he had acquired 2.15 million shares in Excel Force MSC Bhd and 1.93 million shares in Gets Global Bhd in 2015 and 1.02 million shares in Gets Global the following year, and that he might have not declared those assets..
He denied wrongdoing, saying the shares were bought by his brother using Azam's account. – June 21, 2024.
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