Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad drops his defamation case against Najib Razak after the former PM issues a public clarification on the nepotism allegations
KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has withdrawn his civil defamation suit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The suit was related to allegations of nepotism involving the appointment of Dzulkefly’s daughter to a government-linked trust body.
Dzulkefly announced the settlement in a Facebook post, stating it was reached before High Court Judge Mahazan Mat Taib.
He said Najib agreed to immediately upload a clarification statement to his Facebook page and remove the original contentious post.
In his court clarification, Najib acknowledged Dzulkefly’s complaint that the posting created an impression of nepotism.
Najib clarified that Dzulkefly was not involved in the appointment and that there was no element of nepotism on the part of the Kuala Selangor MP.
“This clarifies that the allegations of nepotism against me are baseless,” Dzulkefly said.
“With the agreement reached by both parties, I have agreed to discontinue the civil defamation suit and consider the matter settled.”
Dzulkefly expressed appreciation to all parties involved, especially Judge Mahazan, for resolving the matter amicably.
He also thanked his legal team, family, colleagues, and members of the media for their support and professional coverage.
Dzulkefly filed the suit against Najib on Dec 31, 2021, alleging the defamatory post was intended to embarrass him and was politically motivated.
He previously told the High Court he was unaware of his daughter Nurul Iman’s appointments to two companies.
Nurul Iman was appointed to AIM Solutions Group Bhd before his ministerial appointment in July 2018.
Her appointment to Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) occurred in October 2018, after he had assumed the ministerial post.