Nov 25 decision on Thomas’ bid to strike out Najib’s lawsuit

 

Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas will know on Nov 25 whether he succeeds in his application to nullify former premier Najib Abdul Razak’s wrongful prosecution lawsuit.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning set the decision date on Thomas’ bid to strike out Najib’s civil action.

Judge Ahmad Bache fixed the date following the hearing of oral submissions from legal teams for both parties over whether the legal action ought to be struck out without it being subjected to full trial.

The judge had heard oral submissions from counsel Alan Gomez and Yudistra Darma Dorai, who acted for Thomas (above, left) and Najib (above, right) respectively.

During the previous hearing of the striking-out bid, Gomez argued that the civil action was a form of indirect attack against Najib’s ongoing criminal court cases.

However, in response, the former premier’s lead counsel Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin counter-submitted that the nullification bid should be dismissed and the civil action be subjected to a full hearing, because it involved the issue of whether Thomas committed misfeasance while in public office by deciding to charge Najib in four separate criminal cases.

On Oct 22 last year, Najib’s legal team filed a lawsuit against Thomas over the former prime minister’s alleged wrongful prosecution of several criminal cases.

The plaintiff contended that Thomas had committed misfeasance in public office, malicious process, and negligence.

Four cases

Najib claimed that Thomas’ alleged acts were in relation to the four ongoing criminal court cases against the former, namely the RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption case, the 1MDB audit report case, the RM6.6 billion International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) criminal breach of trust (CBT) case, and the RM27 million SRC International money laundering case.

The former finance minister, however, stated that it does not involve charges in relation to the RM42 million SRC corruption case, for which he is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence.

Najib claimed that the 35 charges linked to the four cases against him had been long planned by Thomas and the then Pakatan Harapan government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad following the 14th general election.

The plaintiff is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that Thomas has committed misfeasance in public office, more than RM1.9 million, as well as general and exemplary damages.

On Nov 19 last year, it was reported that Thomas filed the application to strike out Najib’s civil suit on the grounds that it was a collateral attack to derail the former prime minister’s criminal court cases.

Media reports quoted excerpts from deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib’s affidavit, which contended, among others, that the AG is empowered with discretion to initiate, conduct and discontinue prosecution, as per Article 145 of the Federal Constitution and Section 376(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

However, in a counter-affidavit later, Najib claimed that the striking-out bid was an attempt to block the court from hearing about the alleged wrongdoings perpetrated against him.

Previously, in an affidavit in support of the striking-out application, Thomas claimed that Najib’s suit was politically motivated due to the lead-up to the Malacca state election as well as the upcoming 15th general election.

Thomas had also contended that as the then attorney-general and public prosecutor, his discretion to institute or discontinue criminal proceedings is non-justiciable or not a matter that can be challenged in court, courtesy of Article 145 (3) of the Federal Constitution.

The government was initially another defendant targeted by Najib’s civil action. However, the lawsuit against the government was later withdrawn, leaving Thomas as the sole defendant. - Mkini