Kuala lumpur: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has withdrawn his civil defamation suit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over allegations of nepotism involving the appointment of his daughter in a government-linked trust body.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the settlement was reached before High Court Judge Mahazan Mat Taib after Najib agreed to immediately upload on his Facebook page a clarification statement read in court, as well as remove the related earlier post. Najib, in his court clarification, acknowledged his complaint that the posting had allegedly created the impression that Dzulkefly practised nepotism in relation to the appointment of his daughter, Nurul Iman.

Najib clarified that Dzulkefly was not involved in the appointment and that there was no element of nepotism on the part of the Kuala Selangor MP. Dzulkefly stated, 'This clarifies that the allegations of nepotism against me are baseless. With the agreement reached by both parties, I have agreed to discontinue the civil defamation suit and consider the matter settled.'

Dzulkefly also expressed his appreciation to all parties involved, especially Judge Mahazan, for their cooperation in resolving the matter amicably and respectfully at the High Court. He thanked his team of lawyers, family members, and colleagues for their strong moral support throughout the legal process, and expressed gratitude to members of the media for their fair and professional coverage of the case.

Dzulkefly, 70, filed the suit against Najib on December 31, 2021, alleging that the defamatory posting was published with the intention of embarrassing him and was politically motivated to damage his reputation. On April 7, Dzulkefly told the High Court that he was unaware of the appointment of his eldest daughter, Nurul Iman, in two companies, which allegedly took place before and after his appointment as minister.

He explained that Nurul Iman was appointed as a non-executive director of AIM Solutions Group Bhd (AIM Solutions) on April 30, 2018, before his appointment as minister in July that year, while her appointment as a board member of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) was in October 2018, after he had assumed the ministerial post.