Najib’s suit against govt an abuse of court process, says prosecution

The government claims that the RM1.9 million suit filed by former prime minister Najib Razak against the government and former attorney-general Tommy Thomas is an abuse of the court process and should be quashed.

In the suit, Najib claimed that Thomas had committed misfeasance in public office by prosecuting him on charges involving 1MDB funds.

The government, in an affidavit-in-reply by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib to quash Najib’s suit, said that the civil suit by Najib was a collateral attack on his trial in the criminal court.

“I truly believe that the action by the plaintiff is an abuse of the court process and intended as a collateral attack on the criminal charges against him and done through a different jurisdiction,” said Akram.

He also said that Najib’s claim of new developments in the 1MDB scandal should be raised in a criminal trial and not through a suit.

Najib filed the suit against the Malasian government and Thomas on Oct 22 last year, claiming that he had been wrongly prosecuted in the case of 1MDB, International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), and seeking RM1.9 million in damages.

The Pekan MP claimed that the charges against him were part of a move planned in advance by Thomas and in line with the Pakatan Harapan government’s plan at the time.

Najib claimed that in 2015, Thomas had met Dr Mahathir Mohamad to discuss wrongdoings and mismanagement allegedly over the 1MDB funds and advised Mahathir to take civil and criminal action against Najib over his involvement in 1MDB.

Meanwhile, Thomas, in his affidavit-in-reply filed on Feb 3, said the 1MDB-related charges against Najib were made after he was convinced that there was a strong case.

He said an investigation was also carried out by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and that the investigation papers were in accordance with existing laws and practices.

“The allegation that I formed an opinion about Najib being guilty even before I took office as the attorney-general is not true,” he said, adding that his personal opinion was irrelevant as Najib had been found guilty in one of the cases by the High Court, in a ruling verified by the Court of Appeal.

The High Court set April 15 for case management.