PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has reserved its judgment on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s appeal to reinstate his RM1.9 million lawsuit against former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas.
A three-member bench chaired by Judge Datuk Ravinthran N Paramaguru deferred its decision after hearing submissions from both legal teams.
“We will decide later and adjourn the decision,“ said Justice Ravinthran, who sat with judges Datuk Wong Kian Kheong and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin.
“The case is fixed for case management on Oct 15.”
Najib is appealing against the Nov 25, 2022, High Court’s decision to strike out his lawsuit against Thomas.
The lawsuit claims that Thomas committed misfeasance in public office when he prosecuted him over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad case.
Najib’s counsel Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin contended that his client was denied a fair opportunity to respond.
He argued that the High Court judge based his decision on observations never argued by the parties, preventing his client from rebutting them.
Firoz further contended that the High Court judge had erred when he held that Thomas had absolute immunity as the AG.
“There are numerous authorities, both in Malaysia and other jurisdictions, which have held that an Attorney General can be held liable for an abuse of power,“ he argued.
He added that the matter before the court is one of significant public interest.
Conversely, Thomas’s counsel Alan Andrian Gomez submitted that the High Court Judge correctly struck out the claim on grounds of non-justiciability pursuant to Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution.
He elaborated that a finding of misfeasance would necessitate a determination into Thomas’s prosecutorial discretion.
Alan argued this would require examining whether the decision to prefer charges constituted an abuse of power or was undertaken with recklessness.
“In any event, no particulars as to how the respondent was reckless or had abused his powers have been traversed in the statement of claim,“ he said.
In his lawsuit, Najib claimed that Thomas had acted maliciously in preferring charges against him.
The charges related to the 1MDB and International Petroleum Investment Company cases.
These included abuse of power under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.
They also included money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
Thomas served as attorney-general from June 4, 2018, to Feb 28, 2020.
Najib is seeking a declaration that Thomas committed misfeasance in public office.
He is also claiming RM1.9 million in damages for costs incurred for an audit team retained to review documentation and prepare his defence. – Bernama