KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 — The High Court today fixed January 26 to deliver its decision on the government’s application for a stay of execution on a damages award exceeding RM37 million to the family of Pastor Raymond Koh.

Judge Mahazan Mat Taib set the date after hearing submissions from both parties. Senior Federal Counsel Nurul Farhana Khalid appeared for the government and the Royal Malaysia Police, while Datuk Jerald Gomez represented Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew Sow Yoke.

Earlier in proceedings, Nurul Farhana submitted that the defendants were not refusing payment but sought a stay pending the hearing of their appeal before the Court of Appeal.

She emphasised that the case, which concerns the disappearance of a pastor and involves substantial damages, merited consideration for a stay.

She further argued that the application would not prejudice the plaintiffs, as it was filed without undue delay once all requisite court documents had been obtained.

“This is not an issue where we (the government) are refusing to honour the judgment,” she said. The application for a stay of execution was filed on Dec 17 last year.

Jerald, however, opposed the application, arguing that no stay had been sought for over a month following the judgment’s delivery on November 5, 2025.

“The present application is nothing more than an attempt to delay and to deprive the successful parties of the enjoyment of the fruits of litigation until the appeal is determined, which our courts have consistently refused to countenance,” he argued.

On November 5 last year, High Court Judge Datuk Su Tiang Joo ruled in favour of Liew, holding the police and the government liable for Koh’s disappearance and ordering the payment of more than RM37 million in damages.

This judgment was immediately contested when the Attorney-General’s Chambers filed a notice of appeal the following day.

Liew had filed the suit against the police and the government over her husband’s disappearance and the authorities’ handling of the investigation.

Koh was reported to have been abducted by a group of masked men while driving in Kelana Jaya on February 13, 2017. — Bernama