Cross-examined by Shafee Abdullah, representing Najib, Dzulkefly acknowledged that he had not taken legal action against other individuals who posted “terrible” remarks on Najib’s Facebook page regarding the appointment of his eldest daughter to Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.

Shafee: You know various comments made by commentators in Najib’s Facebook posting, some are terrible comments. But did you sue anyone?

Dzulkefly: No.

Shafee: If you felt so badly, why didn’t you sue the others as well?

Dzulkefly: I choose my battles.

Shafee then pointed out that Dzulkefly had also sued former Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, but later settled the claim.

Dzulkefly explained that he decided to maintain his suit against Najib due to his large following on Facebook, and also because Najib had greatly injured his reputation.

He also denied a suggestion that the suit was aimed at destroying Najib’s political career.

Shafee: You chose to sue my client predominantly because this was a way of destroying my client so that he can never (return to) the political arena?

Dzulkefly: No.

Asked whether he had taken steps to counter allegations of cronyism and nepotism over the 2018 appointment, Dzulkefly said he did not do so immediately as he had not paid much attention to the matter at the time.

He said he subsequently gave an explanation to Sinar Harian on Jan 28, 2019, after the issue gained traction.

Dzulkefly said his daughter’s appointment to Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia’s board of trustees had nothing to do with the health ministry.

Shafee: Unfortunately, you didn’t say anything to remove the perception?

Dzulkefly: I could have done it but it was not captured by the media.

Shafee: The media was not smart enough?

Dzulkefly: They didn’t pick it up. I remember mentioning it in Parliament.

Dzulkefly, 70, filed the suit in January 2022, alleging that Najib had published a defamatory Facebook post about him on Aug 24, 2020.

He claimed the post implied that he practised nepotism by securing his daughter’s appointment to the board of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, and was intended to damage his reputation.

Najib, in his defence filed on March 29, 2022, maintained that the post referred to the Pakatan Harapan coalition, not Dzulkefly.

Lawyer Stanley Sabastien Sinnappen represented Dzulkefly, while Farhan Shafee acted as co-counsel alongside Shafee for Najib.

The hearing before Justice Mahazan Mat Taib continues tomorrow.