Yusoff Rawther withdraws bid to remove Anwar’s counterclaim, defence

PUTRAJAYA – Muhammed Yusoff Rawther has withdrawn his appeal against a high court decision dismissing his bid to remove several paragraphs in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement of defence and counterclaim in a suit.

A three-member Court of Appeal bench comprising justices Datuk Lee Swee Seng, Datuk Hashim Hamzah, and Datuk Lim Chong Fong struck out the appeal and ordered Yusoff to pay RM5,000 in costs to Anwar.

Earlier, Yusoff’s counsel Reenajit Kaur Golen told the bench that they wrote to the court on March 6 to notify about the withdrawal of the appeal.

Anwar’s counsel Navpreet Singh said the appellant’s decision to withdraw only showed he agreed with the high court’s ruling that he had failed to pass the striking-out threshold test.

“The appellant filed the notice of appeal and proceeded with case management sessions to obtain directions to file submissions. However, he made a U-turn to withdraw the appeal a month before the appeal hearing date today,” he said. 

The lawyer then sought RM5,000 in costs over the appellant’s last-minute retraction of the appeal.

On July 14, 2021, Yusoff, who is Anwar’s former research assistant, filed the suit claiming that Anwar had sexually assaulted him. 

He had sought, among others, special, general, aggravated, and exemplary damages, as well as interest, costs, and other relief deemed fit by the court.

On September 9, last year the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Yusoff’s application to strike out several paragraphs in Anwar’s statement of defence and counterclaim. 

Anwar, in his defence filed on September 28, 2021, claimed that Yusoff had lied under oath to the authorities regarding the sexual assault.

According to the PKR president, who filed a counterclaim on the same date, Yusoff had concocted a story about sexual assault to tarnish his political career and ensure he would not become prime minister. – Bernama, April 7, 2023