KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has entered a memorandum of appearance in the RM150 million lawsuit filed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad against him over his speech at an event in Shah Alam in March.

The memorandum was filed through Messrs Thomas Philip yesterday.

His lawyer Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi, when contacted, confirmed the matter and said that case management has been set on May 31 before Judicial Commissioner Jamhirah Ali.

Dr Mahathir filed the suit through Messrs Law Practice of Rafique at the Shah Alam High Court on May 3, and named Anwar as the sole defendant.

In his statement of claims, Dr Mahathir claimed that during the event dubbed "Kongres Nasional Khas Malaysia Madani: Pelaksanaan Sebuah Idealisme” at the Melawati Stadium in Shah Alam on March 18, Anwar had delivered a speech which contained several defamatory statements that aimed to tarnish the plaintiff’s reputation.

Dr Mahathir said this includes the statements that the plaintiff has amassed wealth for himself, his children and family members, and has given special treatment or priority to high-ranking individuals.

The former two-time prime minister is seeking RM50 million in general damage and RM100 million in exemplary damage, as well as an apology and an order for the defendant to immediately retract all the defamatory remarks. — Bernama