The Court of Appeal today dismissed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s attempt to revive his RM1.9 million civil suit against former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas.
A three-judge panel comprising Justices P. Ravinthran, Wong Kian Kheong and Nadzarin Wok Nordin upheld a High Court decision from November 25, 2022, which had struck out Najib’s lawsuit.
Najib had sued Thomas for misfeasance in public office, malicious process and negligence over the handling of charges linked to 1MDB and the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), arguing that Thomas had abused his prosecutorial discretion under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution.
Justice Ravinthran said the panel agreed with the High Court that Najib’s civil action was filed too early because the related criminal proceedings had not yet begun at the time.
“We find that the claims for misfeasance, malicious process and negligence were clearly premature,” he said, adding that Malaysian law also does not recognise the tort of malicious process.
However, the Court of Appeal disagreed with the High Court’s earlier view that Thomas was immune from civil liability and that his decisions were non-justiciable.
“Article 145(3) does not grant the attorney-general immunity from being sued personally. The authorities relied on by the High Court do not apply in cases where the attorney-general’s discretion is challenged in criminal matters,” Ravinthran said.
Despite this, the court ruled that Najib’s suit could not proceed and ordered him to pay RM12,000 in costs to Thomas.
Najib was represented by lawyers Firoz Hussein and Yudistra Darma Dorai, while Alan Adrian Gomez appeared for Thomas.
Najib filed the lawsuit in 2020, seeking a declaration that Thomas had committed misfeasance in public office and claiming RM1.9 million in special damages, which he said were incurred in hiring an audit team to help prepare his defence in the criminal cases.
