AWSJ settles with Mahathir's son

AWSJ settles with Mahathir's son

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): A 150 million ringgit (US$39.5 million) libel suit brought by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's son against the Malaysian printer of the Asian Wall Street Journal has been settled out of court, the national news agency Bernama reported on Friday.

The report cited an announcement by High Court Judge RK Nathan saying that both parties had reached an agreement to settle the suit. It did not say whether there was any monetary settlement.

Inquiries to the newspaper were referred to its main office in Hong Kong, which was closed for the weekend, and its lawyer there, who was not immediately available for comment.

Mahathir's son, Mirzan Mahathir, sued Star Papyrus Printing Sdn. Bhd., which prints the business daily in Malaysia, over a front-page story on Jan. 4, 1999, headlined Mahathir's Eldest Son Limits Ambitions.

Mirzan had claimed that his reputation was seriously damaged in a paragraph that he said implied he built his business empire as a willing beneficiary of nepotism, favoritism and privilege, not on his own ability.