July 20 for case management of Lim Guan Eng's lawsuit against Muhyiddin

KUALA LUMPUR - The High Court has set July 20 for case management of former finance minister Lim Guan Eng's defamation suit against Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Lawyer Guok Ngek Seong who represented the former Penang chief minister said during the proceedings before Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain, today, the court ordered for both parties to file affidavits before the case management and before trial dates were set.

On March 27, the DAP chairman filed the lawsuit against the former prime minister for allegedly issuing defamatory statements over the cancellation of the tax exemption on Yayasan Albukhary.

Lim, 63, as the plaintiff filed the suit through through Messrs Guok Partnership naming Muhyiddin as the sole defendant.

In his claim statement, Lim claimed that the Bersatu president issued defamatory statements on Facebook after he was released from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) custody on March 9.

Lim claimed that the statements had among others suggested that he as then finance minister had cancelled a tax exemption on Yayasan Albukhary.

The Bagan MP said that the statements were deliberately made to seek cheap publicity and try to divert the public's attention because Muhyiddin knew that all the media and newspapers' attention at the time was focused on him.

Lim alleged that the statements also implied that he had abused his position and power to instruct the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to impose taxes and penalties on charitable foundations even though they should not be taxed.

On March 22, it was reported that Lim lodged a police report against Muhyiddin on the accusation.

Lim said he lodged the report after finding that Muhyiddin repeated the defamatory statement in a press statement at a press conference on March 11 and 12.

Lim had also challenged Muhyiddin to show evidence that he had cancelled the tax exemption on the foundation.