KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — PKR’s Rafizi Ramli has been served a bankruptcy notice after failing to pay RM306,999.17 in damages and cost related to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) defamation suit.

New Sunday Times reported that an advertisement had been published in the Berita Harian Malay daily that said NFC and its executive chairman, Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, had obtained the notice against Pandan MP.

"We (Salleh and NFC’s legal party) had contacted him three times over the matter but he has yet to respond until today (yesterday).

"So we are going ahead with the bankruptcy proceedings,” Salleh was quoted as saying.

The notice, according to the news report, was dated July 13 and effected by an order dated September 12.

Last November, the High Court ordered Rafizi to pay Salleh and NFC RM200,000 in damages for stating that a loan taken by the feedlot was used to purchase a condominium at KL Eco City.

Upon finding Rafizi’s statement, which indicated that public funds were used as collateral as defamatory, the court ordered that he paid RM150,000 to Salleh and RM50,000 to NFC.

Rafizi was also ordered to pay RM100,000 for legal costs.

It was subsequently reported that Rafizi had raised RM1.5 million from public donations to help pay for the suit.

He had said that RM300,000 from funds received from the public would be given to this legal team to comply with the court order.

"But until today (yesterday), he (Rafizi) has yet to settle the damages and costs as instructed by the court,” Salleh was quoted as saying.