KUALA LUMPUR: The government and two others have succeeded in setting aside a third-party notice filed by former attorney general (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, who sought to bring his successor Tan Sri Idrus Harun into a malicious prosecution lawsuit.
High Court judge Justice Gan Techiong, in his decision, said it was plaintiff Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad’s prerogative to decide who to sue when he chose not to name Idrus as a co-defendant.
The court was of the opinion that Thomas was still at liberty to subpoena Idrus if he deemed it necessary for his successor to testify, and that Thomas would suffer no prejudice if the third-party proceedings were set aside.
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"The first defendant’s constitutional rights are not affected by the absence of his successor as a third party in this civil suit.
"I am therefore of the view that the second, third and fourth defendants' application to set aside the third-party notice ought to be allowed to avoid wasting costs for the fourth defendant (the government)," Justice Gan said here on Friday (June 12).
Apart from the government, two other defendants were the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its former chief commissioner Latheefa Koya.
On Jan 30, Thomas obtained leave through an ex-parte application to issue a third-party notice against Idrus.
Thomas is seeking to claim full indemnity or contribution from Idrus if the court holds the first defendant liable to pay damages to the plaintiff.
Thomas contended that following his resignation in February 2020, he had no further involvement in the prosecution against the plaintiff and Idrus, who was named as the third party in this civil suit and was the AG when the criminal trial commenced, resulting in 22 prosecution witnesses being called before a discharge was applied for by the prosecution on Jan 5, 2023.
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Lawyers Mervyn Lai and Haikaldin Mahyidin represented Thomas and lawyer Syahrul Syazwan Salehin represented Shahrir.
Senior Federal Counsel Zureen Elina Mohd Dom appeared for the second, third and fourth defendants.
Shahrir's lawsuit alleges malicious prosecution from Thomas, who was AG when Shahrir was criminally charged over a RM1mil cheque he received from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for restoration work on the Puri Langkasuka housing project in Larkin, Johor.
Thomas, who was AG from June 4, 2018, to Feb 28, 2020, refuted Shahrir's allegations of abuse of power, describing them as "unsustainable".
He stated that the discretion to charge could only be exercised after the AG receives the investigation papers from agencies like the MACC.
Thomas further explained that he resigned on Feb 28, 2020, and that Shahrir's criminal trial for the charges began on July 26, 2022.
On Jan 5, 2023, High Court judge Justice Muhammad Jamil Hussin acquitted Shahrir on the charge of failing to declare the RM1mil income received from Najib to the Inland Revenue Board.
The trial for the main suit is fixed for Aug 19.
