Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad testifies his RM5 million defamation suit against Najib Razak is not politically motivated but a response to a damaging Facebook post about his daughter.
KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told the High Court that his RM5 million defamation suit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was not an attempt to destroy him politically.
Dzulkefly, 70, made the statement during cross-examination by Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah on the second day of the trial concerning a Facebook post from August 2020.
The minister confirmed he had sued two individuals, Najib and Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, but clarified that the matter involving Asyraf Wajdi had since been settled out of court.
He further stated that he had not taken any legal action against newspapers which had reported on the same issue.
When Muhammad Shafee suggested the lawsuit was a tactic to ensure Najib never returned to politics, Dzulkefly replied with a simple “No”.
Questioned by his own counsel Stanley Sebastian Sinnappen on the same allegation, Dzulkefly described the suggestion as “a bit bizarre” and said there was no truth to it.
He explained that he chose to sue Najib because the Facebook posting was a direct and personal reference to both him and his daughter.
“It was clearly geared not just to accuse, but to attack me over my daughter’s appointment,” said Dzulkefly in his testimony.
He added that the post was meant to defame him and damage his reputation in the public eye.
Under cross-examination by Najib’s other counsel Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, Dzulkefly acknowledged that public criticism is part of political discourse.
“Yes, but it must be done responsibly,” the minister stated, emphasising that criticism should not cross the line into defamation.
Muhammad Farhan suggested his client’s post was merely expressing common concerns over political appointments, cronyism, and nepotism.
Dzulkefly responded by questioning the timing of the post, which was published 19 months after his daughter’s appointment.
Nurul Iman Dzulkefly was appointed to the board of government-linked trust body Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia in October 2018, several months after her father became a minister in May 2018.
Following the minister’s testimony, the court began hearing statements from his daughter, Nurul Iman, with the hearing before Judge Mahazan Mat Taib set to continue.
Dzulkefly filed the suit in January 2022, alleging Najib’s Facebook post on 24 August 2020 implied he practised nepotism to secure his daughter’s board appointment.
He claimed the statement was published to humiliate him and was politically motivated to tarnish his reputation.
In his defence filed in March 2022, Najib contended that the post was directed at the Pakatan Harapan coalition and not at Dzulkefly personally.