Rosmah’s defamation suit: Nov 24 hearing for Harith Iskander’s lawyers to discharge themselves

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today fixed November 24 to hear an application by lawyers Sangeet Kaur Deo and Harkiranjit Kaur Manjit Singh to discharge themselves from representing comedian and actor Harith Iskander in a defamation suit filed by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. — Picture by Raymond Manuel

First Published: Friday, 13 Nov 2026 3:44 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — The High Court here today fixed November 24 to hear an application by lawyers Sangeet Kaur Deo and Harkiranjit Kaur Manjit Singh to discharge themselves from representing comedian and actor Harith Iskander in a defamation suit filed by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

“Yes, we have applied to discharge ourselves from representing (Harith Iskander),” Sangeet confirmed when contacted.

The case management proceedings for the application were held online today before Judge Arziah Mohamed Apandi, with Sangeet and Harkiranjit attending alongside Rosmah’s lawyers, Mohamed Baharudeen Mohamed Ariff and Nur-Diana Ezlyn Hashim.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Baharudeen told reporters that the hearing of the application on November 24 would be conducted online via Zoom at 2.15pm.

Rosmah, 74, filed a defamation suit through Messrs Hafarizam & Aisha Mubarak against Harith Iskander Musa, 60, on June 9, claiming he insulted and body-shamed her during his stand-up comedy performance, Harith Iskander: The Outspoken Comedy Tour, at a hotel in Melaka on January 17.

The former Prime Minister’s wife claimed in her statement of claim that the defendant had shown an image of frightening mythical creatures before displaying her image, followed by remarks mocking the idea of looking in the rear-view mirror while driving along a dark road.

Rosmah also alleged that a TikTok user uploaded a recording of the performance, which garnered hundreds of thousands of views and damaged her reputation and dignity as a public figure and patron of charitable organisations.

In the suit, she is seeking general, aggravated, and exemplary damages; an injunction to prevent the statements from being republished; and a written apology in two mainstream newspapers and on social media accounts.

However, in his statement of defence filed on July 9, Harith Iskander denied that the image was defamatory, adding that the TikTok clip was published without his knowledge or consent and did not reflect the full context of the comedy performance. — Bernama