The Malaysian High Court has rejected an appeal by former prime minister Najib Razak and his son Mohd Nazifuddin Najib to halt bankruptcy proceedings initiated over their unpaid taxes.
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) launched the proceedings after Najib failed to settle RM1.69 billion (US$407 million) in tax arrears, while Nazifuddin owed RM37.6 million.
Judicial Commissioner Suhendran Sockanathan @ Saheran Abdullah dismissed their bid for a stay, ruling that there was no justification to pause the bankruptcy actions.
“I don’t see any other damages that would warrant a stay,” he said on Monday.
Suhendran emphasised that disputes over tax assessments fall under the jurisdiction of the Special Commissioners of Income Tax, not the courts.
“The court’s role is only to facilitate the collection and recovery of tax. The ‘pay now, dispute later’ principle applies to ensure tax collection,” he added.
He noted that filing an appeal with the Special Commissioners does not stop enforcement under the Income Tax Act.
The court also ordered Najib and Nazifuddin to pay RM7,000 each in legal costs.
The IRB previously secured summary judgments in 2020 to recover the outstanding taxes from both men for the years 2011 to 2017, and later issued bankruptcy notices in February 2021. The Federal Court upheld the rulings on October 16, 2023, confirming that the duo must pay the outstanding amounts.
