KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told the High Court here today that he was unaware of his eldest daughter Nurul Iman’s appointments to two companies, which allegedly occurred before and after he became minister.
The 70-year-old plaintiff said his daughter was appointed as a non-executive director of AIM Solutions Group Bhd (AIM Solutions) on April 30, 2018, prior to his appointment as minister in July that year.
He said Nurul Iman’s second appointment, as a board member with Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, took place in October 2018, after he had assumed office.
“I was not aware of either appointment,” said the minister when queried by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s lawyer, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, on the first day of the RM5 million defamation trial against the former prime minister.
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak arrives at the High Court to continue proceedings in his defamation suit involving Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad over a Facebook post on cronyism, Kuala Lumpur, April 7, 2026. — Bernama pic
In his witness statement, Dzulkefly said he had never influenced Nurul Iman’s appointment at AIM Solutions.
“I did not even know that she had been asked, applied or headhunted and had accepted the position on the board as a non-executive director for the company. I believe her progress in the company was based on her capabilities and had nothing to do with me or any other person.
“She is as I said, a woman with ability and a capable one at that. To tarnish my reputation and hers is totally uncalled for,” he said.
When asked by his counsel, Stanley Sabastien Sinnappen, the plaintiff said Najib had not contacted him before posting the alleged statement on Facebook.
Najib attended today’s proceedings. The trial before Judge Mahazan Mat Taib will continue tomorrow.
Dzulkefly filed the suit against Najib on December 31, 2021, over Najib’s Facebook post, which alleged that Dzulkefly had practised nepotism to ensure his daughter Nurul Iman’s appointment as a board member of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.
He further alleged the statement was published with the intent to humiliate him and was politically motivated to tarnish his reputation.
Najib, in his statement of defence filed on March 29, 2022, contended that the post was not directed at Dzulkefly but at the Pakatan Harapan coalition. — Bernama
