KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof and Harakah are trying to settle their legal dispute over defamation on the issue of cosmetics entrepreneur Muhammad Sajjad Kamaruzzaman, or better known as Sajat.
This was over the issue of the entrepreneur performing the umrah (pilgrimage) dressed in telekung (female prayer garments).
Lawyer Noorazmir Zakaria who represented Mujahid said the Sessions Court has given until Sept 7 for parties to update the court if they want to resolve the case out of court.
"Parties are in the midst of negotiating an out of court settlement and the judge has fixed Sept 7 for us to update the court on the outcome of our negotiation," he said.
Noorazmir said today was fixed for trial but at the onset of the proceeding which was conducted via Zoom, judge Zulqarnain Hassan had suggested that parties try settling the case amicably.
He added that the court had also made a suggestion for the case to be resolved through a mediation process.
"We will be discussing this with our clients later," he said.
On Aug 12 last year, Mujahid, who is former minister in the prime minister's department, filed the defamation suit and named Harakah reporter Aziz Muda; its editor-in-chief Wan Nordin Wan Yaacob; and its online portal harakahdaily.net operator Galeri Media Serbanika Sdn Bhd and the newspaper's printer, Percetakan Turbo (M) Sdn Bhd, as the defendants.
In his statement of claim, Mujahid claimed that on Feb 7, the same year, Aziz, Wan Nordin and Galeri Media had written and published defamatory words against him on harakahdaily.net via an article titled "Sajat: Mujahid dan K'jaan PH patut dipersalahkan" and another one titled "Keterlanjuran Sajat kesilapan Mujahid dan kerajaan PH" published on Harakah newspaper dated Feb 10-13.
The Parit Buntar member of Parliament said the defamatory words implied that he was an irresponsible man for allowing the public, especially Muslims, to engage in Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transexual (LGBT) activities and that he was the main reason for Sajat to wear telekung and behave like a woman while performing umrah.
Mujahid claimed that the defamatory words had tarnished his dignity, credibility and reputation as the minister in charge of religious affairs at the material time.
Meanwhile, in their statement of defence filed on Sept 28 last year, the defendants said Mujahid should be man enough to be responsible for the statement he made and should not be offended by the criticisms hurled at him by the public, especially the media practitioners, in connection with the issue.