PETALING JAYA, July 18 — The pall of an assault allegation hanging over Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was today lifted when his accuser, Amir Bazli Abdullah, withdrew his suit against the home minister.

The two sides agreed to settle the case after mediation at the Shah Alam High Court today, news portal Malaysiakini reported.

The minister and his accuser both met privately with arbitrator Rohani Ismail, who barred lawyers Datuk Shamsul Bahrain and Karpal Singh, respectively acting for Zahid and Amir Bazli, from participating.

"I have insisted that in mediation cases, lawyers are allowed to be present. However, the Sessions judge continued not to allow us in," Karpal was quoted as saying in the report.

But the DAP chairman noted that the outcome of the civil suit does not prevent criminal charges from being pursued against Zahid.

Both parties declined to reveal the terms of their settlement, which also saw the minister dropping his countersuit, saying only that they were both satisfied with the outcome.

The case had previously led to opposition lawmakers questioning Ahmad Zahid’s position as home minister, given that he oversees the agencies that would be responsible for pursuing criminal charges, if any, against him in the case.

Businessman Amir Bazli had sued Ahmad Zahid for allegedly punching him in 2006 at the Country Heights recreational club in Kajang, Selangor, causing a swollen eye and a nasal bone fracture.

Ahmad Zahid, who was then the deputy information minister, applied to the High Court here to throw out the case, but his application was dismissed in 2010.

Ahmad Zahid then filed a countersuit against the 41-year-old, saying that the allegation had humiliated him and caused emotional trauma.

The Court of Appeal ruled last year, however, against Ahmad Zahid’s bid to strike out the assault suit and ordered him to fork out RM5,000 in costs, as well as to respond to the suit.

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