Nov 25 ruling on Thomas’ bid to quash Najib’s lawsuit
Najib Razak is suing Tommy Thomas for branding him a ‘criminal’ in his book.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has fixed Nov 25 to rule on Tommy Thomas’ bid to quash Najib Razak’s misfeasance in public office lawsuit brought against him.
Justice Ahmad Bache set the date after hearing submissions from lawyers for both Najib and Thomas over the past two days.
The former prime minister filed the suit against Thomas last year, claiming that the 1MDB-related criminal charges brought against him were “part of a long-planned, premeditated exercise” orchestrated by the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
He alleged that Thomas, who was appointed the attorney-general on June 4, 2018, carried out his duties “in line with (those) plans”. Thomas served as the AG until Feb 28, 2020, following the collapse of the PH government.
Najib is seeking RM1.94 million in damages.
Thomas claims the present case was filed for a collateral purpose, namely, “for use in (Barisan Nasional’s) campaign leading up to the Melaka state election last November and for the general election (GE15)”.
Earlier today, Thomas’ lawyer, Alan Gomez, challenged Najib’s claim that the 1MDB-related charges amounted to “political prosecution”, telling the court they were not dropped even after Thomas’ tenure as AG ended in February 2020.
“(Current) AG Idrus Harun carried on with the charges. He had the discretion to drop the charges but did not do so,” he said.
Najib’s lawyer, Yudistra Darma Dorai, told the court his client’s case against Thomas was premised on the former AG’s conduct of making “prejudicial” statements against Najib, even after leaving office.
“We want him to come to court to answer why his book (which contains statements about the 1MDB case) refers to my client as a ‘criminal’,” he said.
Ahmad then asked Gomez whether Thomas was involved in conducting Najib’s ongoing 1MDB cases.
“(The case is conducted) by Gopal Sri Ram (but Thomas) was part of the SRC International prosecution. He read the opening statement and cross-examined the accused (Najib) during the defence stage,” Gomez said.
He said the SRC International case was not part of the subject matter of the present lawsuit.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has fixed Nov 25 to rule on Tommy Thomas’ bid to quash Najib Razak’s misfeasance in public office lawsuit brought against him.
Justice Ahmad Bache set the date after hearing submissions from lawyers for both Najib and Thomas over the past two days.
The former prime minister filed the suit against Thomas last year, claiming that the 1MDB-related criminal charges brought against him were “part of a long-planned, premeditated exercise” orchestrated by the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
He alleged that Thomas, who was appointed the attorney-general on June 4, 2018, carried out his duties “in line with (those) plans”. Thomas served as the AG until Feb 28, 2020, following the collapse of the PH government.
Najib is seeking RM1.94 million in damages.
Thomas claims the present case was filed for a collateral purpose, namely, “for use in (Barisan Nasional’s) campaign leading up to the Melaka state election last November and for the general election (GE15)”.
Earlier today, Thomas’ lawyer, Alan Gomez, challenged Najib’s claim that the 1MDB-related charges amounted to “political prosecution”, telling the court they were not dropped even after Thomas’ tenure as AG ended in February 2020.
“(Current) AG Idrus Harun carried on with the charges. He had the discretion to drop the charges but did not do so,” he said.
Najib’s lawyer, Yudistra Darma Dorai, told the court his client’s case against Thomas was premised on the former AG’s conduct of making “prejudicial” statements against Najib, even after leaving office.
“We want him to come to court to answer why his book (which contains statements about the 1MDB case) refers to my client as a ‘criminal’,” he said.
Ahmad then asked Gomez whether Thomas was involved in conducting Najib’s ongoing 1MDB cases.
“(The case is conducted) by Gopal Sri Ram (but Thomas) was part of the SRC International prosecution. He read the opening statement and cross-examined the accused (Najib) during the defence stage,” Gomez said.
He said the SRC International case was not part of the subject matter of the present lawsuit.
Najib's suit is an abuse of the court process.
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