KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has filed an application at the Federal Court seeking leave to appeal in a bid to revive his RM1.9mil civil suit against former Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas.
Najib, 72, filed the notice of motion on Feb 10, seeking to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision, which upheld the High Court’s ruling to dismiss his suit.
In the application, Najib raised three legal questions for determination by the Federal Court and requested permission to file a notice of appeal within one month should leave be granted.
His lawyer, Yudistra Darma Dorai, when contacted by Bernama, said the application for leave to appeal has been fixed for hearing on July 30.
On Jan 13, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Datuk Ravinthran N. Paramaguru, agreed with the High Court that the suit was clearly premature because the criminal case had not yet commenced when it was filed.
On Nov 25, 2022, the High Court allowed Thomas' application to strike out Najib's suit without a full trial.
The former Pekan MP had filed the suit on Oct 22, 2021, alleging that Thomas abused his power when prosecuting him in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case.
Through the suit, Najib claimed that Thomas had acted with malicious intent when filing charges against him in relation to the 1MDB and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) cases.
The charges included abuse of power under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and several counts of money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
Najib is seeking, among others, a court declaration that Thomas had committed the tort of misconduct in public office and claimed special damages of RM1.9mil, which included the costs incurred in appointing an audit team to review documents and preparing a defence for the criminal proceedings.
Thomas served as Attorney General from June 4, 2018, to February 28, 2020. - Bernama
