Lawyer Ragunath Kesavan, representing Ismail, said an injunction granted to his client to order Anina to remove all the postings would remain enforced pending the outcome of the trial.

Anina, who was present, told judge Mohd Firuz Jaffril she had no objections in the case. She said she would conduct her defence.

“I cannot afford a lawyer because I am only a housewife,” she said, adding that she had also filed her defence today.

In the statement of claim, Ismail said Anina had attacked him in his personal capacity 13 times between Feb 5 and March 3.

Ismail, who is also an Umno vice-president, claimed she had ridiculed him and gone overboard in posting statements and videos to “damage” his reputation among the public.

“The postings had nothing to do with government policies and the plaintiff’s duty as a minister,” said the statement of claim filed on March 5.

It said Anina’s postings, among others, gave the impression that Ismail was “weak, a coward and feminish”.

Ismail also wants a permanent injunction to restrain Anina from posting her statements and videos on other social media platforms.

He is demanding an apology and unspecified amount of damages from Anina, a former Langkawi Umno member who joined PPBM and later also left the party.