KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin filed his defence statement at the High Court here two days ago over a defamation suit filed against him by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The suit was over an allegation that Anwar received a salary of RM15 million while he was Selangor Economic Adviser.

Lawyer Datuk S.N. Nair, representing Anwar, said his client had been ordered to reply to the defence statement by Feb 16.

The court also set Feb 23 for the next case management, he said in a WhatsApp application after the online case management before Assistant Registrar Nur Shasha Hidayah Nor Azahar today.

Anwar was also represented by lawyers Jaden Phoon Wai Ken and Wong Guo Jin, while lawyer Chetan Lachman Jethwani represented Muhyiddin.

In the suit, Anwar, 75, claimed that last Dec 5, Muhyiddin, who is Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman, made slanderous remarks against him in a speech during the ‘Grand Finale Perikatan Nasional Padang Serai” in Taman Selasih, Kulim, in support of the PN candidate for the 15th General Election, Datuk Azman Nasrudin, which was attended by a large crowd.

Anwar is seeking, among others, general damages, aggravated damages, exemplary damages and an injunction to prevent Muhyiddin from continuing to publish or distribute similar defamatory statements. — Bernama