He said a four-day trial will commence from Aug 1 followed by another two days from Oct 6.

“It will be a remote hearing,” Haaziq told reporters after a case management online before High Court deputy registrar Rini Triany Muhamad Ali.

Lawyer Mervyn Lai, who appeared for Rewcastle Brown, also confirmed the outcome of today’s proceedings.

Sultanah Nur Zahirah is expected to be the first witness to give evidence before judicial commissioner John Lee.

She had filed a RM300 million suit against Rewcastle Brown, publisher Gerakbudaya Enterprise and printer Vinlin Press and two others in 2018 for allegedly defaming her in a book, ‘The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose’.

She said the alleged defamatory statement implied that she had interfered in Terengganu’s administration and had used her status to influence the establishment of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), which later became 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

She alleged the statement also implied that she had helped now fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, to become the adviser of TIA.

She is claiming general damages of RM100 million from each defendant.

The defendants said they were relying on the defence of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege.