KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — The High Court today granted an interim injunction order to gag former Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam from issuing defamatory statements against 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) lawyer Rosli Dahlan. 

The order was granted by Judicial Commissioner Dato Mohd Arief Emran Ariffin over a RM50 million dollar suit filed by Rosli against Lokman for defamation. 

Prior to the interim gag order, Rosli made a police report and sent a letter of demand to Lokman over statements that the latter had made during a video broadcast on social media on March 16 and 20, including alleging that lawyer had siphoned 10 per cent of Goldman Sachs’ and Ambank’s settlements to the Malaysian government over the 1MDB matter — as legal fees to enable the channelling of funds to Bersatu.   

Rosli had denied all allegations, stating that Lokman had falsely accused him of receiving 10 per cent of the RM17 billion, amounting RM1.7 billion in legal fees with the government’ settlement with Goldman Sachs over the 1MDB case, and had provided RM500 million to Bersatu as commission. 

In his affidavit, Rosli disclosed that Lokman had reached out to him to seek a settlement, requesting Rosli's agreement to waive the claim for compensation. 

Rosli's affidavit also posited that Lokman has a long history and penchant for making false accusations and fake news in his pursuit of “cheap publicity”. 

However, Lokman did not fulfill his promise to apologise via similar video and failed to turn up at Rosli's office to make his personal apology.  

Lokman also had only deleted one of the two videos in which he had allegedly made defamatory statements against Rosli. 

Rosli was represented by Datuk DP Naban and Joseph Wong on the injunction hearing this morning. 

Rosli also issued a letter of demand to Kuang assemblyman Sallehuddin Amiruddin and his aide Mohd Hanizam Yunus who had made similar statements, linking the lawyer and his firm, Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership to commissions earned from the settlement against Goldman Sachs and AmBank for facilitating the embezzlement of public funds through 1MDB.

C4 willing to accede to Rosli’s demands

Similarly, anti-corruption watchdog Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism’s (C4 Centre) lawyer had responded to Rosli’s letter of demand against the organisation over several alleged defamatory statements posted on social media. 

Representing C4 Centre, Datuk Gurdial Singh Nijar stated that their client had no intention to defame Rosli, had removed the alleged defamatory post in question and even considered acceding to Rosli's demands to resolve the matter amicably. 

In Rosli’s letter of demand dated March 29 and sighted by Malay Mail, the lawyer is demanding for C4 Centre that remove the alleged defamatory posts and to agree to pay RM10 million in compensation. 

The 1MDB lawyer is also demanding for C4 Centre to provide an unequivocal public apology to be published prominently and immediately on its website, Facebook page and Twitter account, and to have all news portals which had posted the allegedly defamatory materials to also post the same apology with the same prominence.