KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today withdrew his lawsuit against the owner of Agenda Daily Media Enterprise over an allegedly defamatory article published two years ago.
Ismail Sabri's lawyer, K. Ragunath, informed High Court Judge Datuk Aliza Sulaiman that his client agreed to withdraw the defamation suit with no order as to costs and no liberty to file it again.
Meanwhile, Asiah Abd Jalil, the lawyer representing the defendant Muhamad Izwan Mohd Zubit, confirmed the matter.
Judge Aliza dismissed the case and commended both parties for reaching a settlement. "I thank both parties for achieving this resolution. The trial dates set for today and tomorrow are now vacated," she said.
Following the proceedings, Ismail Sabri and Muhamad Izwan were seen shaking hands in the public gallery.
Ismail Sabri then explained to reporters that it was unnecessary to proceed with the lawsuit, as the issues regarding the prime minister and the election had become moot.
He filed the lawsuit in February 2022 in his personal capacity, claiming that an article published by Agenda Daily Media on Jan 30 of the same year, contained malicious, defamatory, and false statements about him.
The Bera member of parliament asserted that the article allegedly portrayed him as desperate to retain his position as prime minister at any cost, even to the point of appealing to political parties not to withdraw their support.
It also purportedly described his term as the shortest in the nation's history.
Meanwhile, Muhamad Izwan, in his defence, argued that the article was published with journalistic responsibility and denied any elements of defamation or malicious intent toward the plaintiff.