GANT1 withdraws appeal and suit against Najib, 1MDB and gov't

Pakatan Harapan-linked Gerakan Anak Muda tolak Najib (GANT1) has today withdrawn its appeal at the Federal Court, over a suit they filed against former premier Najib Abdul Razak, 1MDB and the government.

GANT1 filed the suit against all three in last year, where they aimed to stop 1MDB's payments to the International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC), which were part of a settlementreached in the London Court of Arbitration.

GANT1 is seeking to declare the settlement with IPIC and its subsidiary Aabar Investment PJS (Abu Dhabi) on May 11, last year, as null and void.

The group also wants the details of 1MDB's payments to IPIC and Aabar Investments PJS (Abu Dhabi) be revealed.

The suit also seeks a declaration that if Najib, 1MDB, and the government are found to be liable for overpaying IPIC, then the excess amount should be returned to a special fund, and committal proceedings can be filed against the defendants.

Overpaying or double payments referred to here means 1MDB had earlier paid the fake Aabar Investment PJS (British Virgin Island), when it should have paid Aabar Investment PJS (Abu Dhabi) which is registered under IPIC. This follows bonds taken by 1MDB to acquire the independent power producers.

The withdrawal of the motion for leave to appeal was recorded before Federal Court registrar Intan Syafinaz Roslin today.

The withdrawal is made with no order made as to costs.

Lawyer Nur Dalila Husna Azmi appeared for GANT1 while Nik Alia Hanafi, for Najib, senior federal counsel Shaiful Nizam Shahrin for the government, and Wong Tie Jee for 1MDB.

Lawyer Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who represented GANT1 explained the decision to withdraw follows the new government's move to investigate the case and to take proper action against those responsible for the action.

Similar promises, he added are made by the 1MDB board of directors to look and possibly take action on the former directors regarding the deal and arbitration.

Haniff says GANT1's action to file the suit following earlier non-action by the authorities had finally borne fruit.

"Hence they placed their trust in the regulators, the government and 1MDB board in this," he said.

At the High Court earlier this year, Najib, 1MDB and the government had failed to strike out the suit when Justice Hue Siew Kheng ordered the case to go to trial.

However, this was overturned by the Court of Appeal earlier this year before the general election, which was subsequently appealed by GANT1. - Mkini