Aug 30 to hear appeal on RM2.6 bil suit against Najib

The Court of Appeal (COA) in Putrajaya today fixed Aug 30 to hear the appeal on misfeasance in public office suit by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and two others, against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

This after the case came up for management before COA registrar Mariam Maran Abdullah.

Lawyer Irliani Noor Khuszairy, who represented Mahathir and the two others - former Umno members Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Anina Saadudin, told this to reporters. Najib was represented by Nur Azira Abu Hayan.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Abu Bakar Jais had on April 28, struck out the suit, after ruling that Najib, as the PM, is not a public officer, and hence the trio's suit has no cause of action.

The trio had filed the RM2.642 billion suit against Najib on March 23 last year, alleging misfeasance in public office, for allegedly acting in bad faith to have various agencies investigating him, being "compromised and undermined."

The judge, in striking out the suit, said the trio must prove that the positions that Najib holds as the PM, the finance minister, BN chairperson and Umno president, are public offices.

Abu Bakar reasoned that Najib is a member of an administration and not a public officer, citing Section 3 of the Interpretations Act which defines public office as an office in any of the public services, and public officer means “a person lawfully holding, acting in or exercising the functions of a public service”.

Article 132(1) of the Federal Constitution, the judge said, defined that public services comprised the armed forces, the judicial and legal service, the general public service of the federation, the police force, the education service, the joint public services and public services of each state, and the provision in the constitution showed Najib was not a member of any of the services. - Mkini