KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — Accused of going over the limit during Election 2013, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has obtained a temporary stay on filing his defence statements against PKR’s lawsuit, the prime minister’s lawyer said today.

Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun said the order was granted by High Court judge Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab, which means Najib and BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor will not have to submit their statements of defence and affidavits until next month.

Hafarizam said the ad interim stay will last till October 1, when both sides appear before the judge to argue Najib and Tengku Adnan’s application for a permanent stay.

The High Court has kept October 9 as the case management date, where the hearing dates for other matters including Najib and Tengku Adnan’s striking out bid will be fixed.

“Amongst the basis for the striking out of this suit is that PKR lacks locus standi to maintain this action, wrong person sued in relation to the case against BN, civil court lacks jurisdiction over criminal matters, to wit a few,”  Hafarizam said in a statement.

On September 3, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered Najib, Tengku Adnan and two others named in the civil suit — 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the Election Commission (EC) — to file their defence against claims of overspending during Election 2013.

News portal The Malaysian Insider had reported that Najib had been given until October 1 to file his defence, while Tengku Adnan was given until September 15 and 1MDB and the EC until September 14.

The lawsuit for discovery of documents was jointly filed by PKR and five others — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Chua Tian Chang and Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

Among others, the suit seeks access to Najib’s monthly banks statements from 2009, receipt of RM2.6 billion from Tanore Finance Corp into his personal accounts, receipt of RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd into his personal accounts, documents, minutes, correspondence, records and agreements on SRC’s RM4 billion loan from Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP), as well as all monthly bank statements for 1MDB and its subsidiaries accounts both in and out of the country.

It is also demanding for any documents or agreements from Goldman Sachs relating to the provision of services to 1MDB.

In a report on July 2, US-based daily Wall Street Journal, citing documents from Malaysian investigators currently scrutinising the troubled 1MDB’s financials, claimed that a money trail showed that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) was moved among government agencies, banks and companies before it ended up in Najib’s accounts, two months before the 13^th general election in May 2013.

It was previously alleged that the funds were used for BN’s Election 2013 campaigns but detractors have pointed out that this would be illegal as RM2.6 billion far surpasses the legal limit allowed by Malaysia’s election laws.

Nurul Izzah said then that it was obvious that the RM2.6 billion was 26 times more than what BN was legally allowed to spend in the election under the Election Offences Act 1954, adding that the lawsuit will reveal that the ruling coalition was engaged in “all kinds of bribes and corrupt tactics.”

Under Section 19 of the Act, candidates are permitted to spend no more than RM200,000 when contesting a federal seat and RM100,000 for state constituencies.