KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Syarikat Sinar Karangkraf Sdn Bhd has been named as second defendant in the suit filed by DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang against former Inspector-General of Police Tun

Mohammed Hanif Omar over the alleged defamatory remarks made against him by the first defendant at a convention in 2018.

Previously Lim, as plaintiff, had named Mohammed Hanif as the sole defendant in the suit.

In March, the High Court granted Lim’s application to name Syarikat Sinar as second defendant.

Lim’s counsel, Harshaan Zamani told reporters that in today’s proceedings, High Court Judicial Commissioner Quay Chew Soon had set July 15 to hear the application to amend his statement of claim.

Today’s proceeding was conducted through Skype and attended by Lim’s lead counsel, Sangeet Kaur Deo, and Mohammed Hanif’s lawyer Muralee Menon.

Lim filed the suit on October 17, 2018, claiming that the ex-IGP had, while giving a speech at a "Karamah Bangsa” convention in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam on September 6, claimed that Lim had intentionally ordered DAP to split Peninsular Malaysia into two to divide the Malays and the Chinese.

Lim also claimed that the statement was published in the Malay Sinar Harian daily.

In his statement of claim, he said Mohammed Hanif had also maliciously caused the publication of the defamatory statement in the Malaysiakini and Free Malaysia Today news portals on September 6 and 7.

Lim is seeking an order for the defendant to withdraw the alleged defamatory words and submit an apology as well as general, aggravated and exemplary damages, and an injunction to prohibit the defendant or any of his agents to repeat or republish the statements. — Bernama