Two separate Sessions Courts in Shah Alam today dismissed applications by Anwar Ibrahim’s aides to remove any references to their boss in suits for assault and defamation filed by Muhammed Yusoff Rawther last year.
Yusoff’s lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said judge Ishak Bakri dismissed Anwar’s press secretary Tunku Nashrul Tunku Abaidah’s application to omit any paragraphs containing references to Anwar in the plaintiff’s statement of claim.
Similarly, he said, another judge Fathiyah Idris also refused to allow Anwar’s political secretary Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak’s application to delete any references to his boss.
Haniff said Ishak did not provide grounds for throwing out the application while Fathiyah ruled that Farhash’s application would not prejudice the latter.
He said the judge also held that the allegation against Anwar was necessary for Yusoff to prove his case.
Tunku Nashrul and Farhash wanted any references to Anwar to be expunged on the grounds that the suit was motivated by political reasons.
The courts have set case management for March 20 to fix the trial dates.
Tunku Nashrul and Farhash had filed their defence last October.
Yusoff, who is a grandson of the late prominent consumer advocate SM Mohamed Idris, filed the suit last September and claimed Farhash had injured him after punching him repeatedly without provocation at Anwar’s office in Bukit Gasing here in May.
He also took action against Tunku Nashrul for defamation over several media statements the latter made on the incident.
Yusoff, 26, said Tunku Nashrul had, among others, defamed him by accusing him of having a drug addiction problem and denying that the assault took place.
Yusoff was appointed as Anwar’s research officer in September 2018. His duties included replying to letters sent to the PKR president and Port Dickson MP.
He is, among others, seeking exemplary damages from Farhash for “wilful and violent conduct” as well as other reliefs deemed fit by the court.
Yusoff said Farhash, 37, came to the office at about 10am on May 16, 2018, and scolded him for being rude to Anwar’s secretary, Shukri Saad, which he denied.
Yusoff said Farhash then pushed him against the wall while he was seated, choked him and threatened to kill him.
Yusoff said he managed to free himself, following which Farhash lunged forward and rained punches on him before throwing his mobile phone on the table.
“He pushed me to the floor and continued to attack and injure me,” Yusoff said in the statement, adding that Farhash later left the premises after threatening to kill him.
He said he sent a text message about the incident to Anwar, who told him to seek medical treatment and rest at home.
The plaintiff said the following day, Farhash came to the office and told him that he could do whatever he liked in the office and again threatened him for reporting the incident to Anwar.
Yusoff sought treatment at a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur and lodged a report against Farhash at the Petaling Jaya police station on May 26.
He said Farhash contacted him two days after the report was made but he avoided meeting the defendant.
In his suit, Yusoff said he has not worked for Anwar since June, 2018, as he was traumatised and emotionally disturbed as a result of the incident.
Yusoff had also lodged a police report and prepared a statutory declaration alleging that Anwar had sexually assaulted him sometime in late 2018 but the prosecution refused to frame charges on grounds of insufficient evidence.
Anwar has denied the allegation. – FMT