Counsel: Anina cannot sue Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Anina Saadudin (pic) has no legal standing to sue Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over the RM2.6bil political donation that is for the use of the party, a High Court heard.

Yesterday, Najib’s lead counsel Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun argued that under Section 9 (c) of the Societies Act, only a public officer of the party was competent enough to sue for Umno’s interest.

“The plaintiff has wrongly brought this suit as she failed to comply with the mandatory requirement of Section 9 (c).

She was not an Umno public officer “who has been declared and duly registered by the Registrar of Societies”, said Mohd Hafarizam.

The former Langkawi Wanita Umno member, he said, claimed to have filed the civil action for Umno’s benefit and its members when the party had its own public officer – Umno executive secretary Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh – to do so.

Mohd Hafarizam, who also appeared for Ab Rauf – named as the second defendant in the lawsuit – said the suit ought to be struck out by the court.

The court, he said, also had no jurisdiction to hear the suit as, under Section 18C of the same Act, a political party’s decision on any matter over its affairs should be final and conclusive, and not be challenged in any court. The issues in the dispute, he argued, were in respect to the decisions and internal management of Umno.

Anina, he said, had also automatically lost her membership when she brought the civil action as clearly stipulated under Article 20.7 of the Umno Constitution.

Another High Court, he said, had also on Dec 7 struck out her challenge over the termination of her membership on grounds that it had no jurisdiction to hear the matter under Section 18C.

However, Anina’s lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla argued that no decision was ever made by Umno over the RM2.6bil donation.

“It is not a plain and obvious case for this court to summarily strike out the claim,” he said, adding that this should be determined after hearing merits in a trial.

Anina, he said, was a lawful member of the party when she filed the suit on Aug 28.