Rafizi said he would defend his remarks in court, adding that what he had said was to “protect public interest”.

“Shahril (Shamsuddin) has welcomed my return to active politics with a court case,” he said in a statement, referring to his recent election to the post of PKR deputy president.

Rafizi said he received the writ on May 11, after failing to comply with a letter of demand for an apology and retraction of three articles containing allegedly libellous statements about Shahril.

Shahril had taken offence to a claim by Rafizi that Sapura Energy’s majority shareholders, led by Shahril, had taken out a total of RM1.33 billion, made up of RM1.1 billion in salaries and the rest in other payments and dividends.

Rafizi had claimed that this was triple the sum of RM440 million which the company paid out to the remaining shareholders in dividends.

Shahril has denied the allegations, with his lawyers stating that it was publicly known that his total remuneration between 2013 and 2021 was RM486.25 million.