KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak has applied to the High Court for a stay of Damansara MP Tony Pua’s lawsuit against him for misfeasance in his past capacity as the prime minister, a lawyer said.
Najib’s lawyer, Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, told High Court Judge Datuk Rozana Ali Yusoff that the former prime minister applied for a stay on December 24.
According to The Edge Markets, Hafarizam said Najib applied on the grounds that his criminal trials related to 1MDB should be decided first before he should be compelled to respond to Pua’s suit over the state investment firm.
The judge has set January 6 for Pua and the government to respond to Najib’s application.
In a landmark decision last November, the Federal Court ruled that the prime minister was a public officer who could be sued for misfeasance, effectively allowing Pua’s suit to continue.
Najib previously argued that the definition of public officer did not include that of the prime minister.
In 2017, Pua sued Najib for alleged misfeasance in relation to the 1MDB scandal but the matter remained in limbo while the courts considered whether the PM constituted a “public officer” under the Government Proceedings Act.
Najib is already facing dozens of criminal charges related to the 1MDB scandal that range from abuse to money laundering as well as tampering with a federal audit report of the firm.
The number of cases against Najib is already stretching his legal team to its limits. This has also been complicated by his chief defence lawyer, Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah’s involvement in other unrelated cases.
