KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — The Kuala Lumpur High Court struck out today Anina Saadudin’s lawsuit against Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak over a portion of the RM2.6 billion donation, ruling that she was no longer a party member and so has no legal standing to make a case.

High Court judicial commissioner Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab said he agreed with the arguments by Najib’s legal team that lawsuits can only be filed by a political party’s public officer or its office bearers.

“The facts that are clear in this case is the plaintiff is not a public officer that has been named and also not an office bearer in Umno. The plaintiff has no capacity to bring this action,” the judge said.

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Mohd Zaki said Anina had to remain an Umno member to continue her derivative action on behalf of Umno against Najib, but noted that the Kuala Lumpur High Court had recently dismissed her challenge against her termination from the party.

“Therefore, the plaintiff cannot continue her action when she is no longer an Umno member,” he said, later adding that he found that Anina does not have a reasonable cause of action against Najib.

The judge said Anina’s lawsuit had to be of public interest and cannot be on Umno’s internal matters.

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In allowing Najib and Umno public officer Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh’s bid to strike out Anina’s lawsuit, the judge ordered her to pay RM5,000 in costs to each of the two defendants.

On August 28, Anina, a former grassroots leader under the Langkawi Umno division, filed a lawsuit against Najib at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, seeking to claim a US$650 million portion of the US$681 million (RM2.6 billion) said to have been donated by a friendly Middle Eastern nation to help the Malay ruling party in its 2013 election campaign.

Anina had also applied in September for an injunction to freeze Najib’s assets up to a value of US$650 million, and asked the court to order the prime minister to fully declare all his local and foreign assets, held either by himself or others in trust.

The former Langkawi Umno member had also sought for the court to order — via a judgment without the need to go for trial — for the full details of the transactions involving the RM2.6 billion donation since it entered Najib’s account until the present.

Anina was sacked from Umno by party secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor several days after her August 28 lawsuit.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court recently struck out her separate lawsuit on September 11 against Tengku Adnan and Umno executive secretary Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh in a bid to declare the termination of her party membership invalid, but she has filed an appeal.

Najib has denied taking public funds for personal gains and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is still probing the RM2.6 billion “donation” said to be from an unnamed Middle Eastern source.