KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 – The High Court here Tuesday granted an application by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to suspend the proceedings of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)’s lawsuit against them. The case pertained to an allegation by PKR of overspending by the defendants during the 13th General Election.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab said the suspension was provided for under special circumstances. The applicants had cited as grounds, their pending application to strike out the lawsuit. The judge said it would be prejudicial to Najib and Tengku Adnan if he disallowed their application to suspend the lawsuit proceedings as they would then have to provide relevant documents on the case to the plaintiffs.
He said if the documents are handed over to the plaintiffs and the application by the defendants to strike out the writ is granted, the court finds that it might prejudice Najib and Tengku Adnan. On the other hand, said Mohd Zaki, the plaintiffs would not suffer any prejudice even if the court allowed the suspension as they could obtain the documents later should the court not strike out the defendants’ application.
The judge set Nov 11 for the final date for case management to enable both sides to file their respective affidavits. If possible, he said he do not want this case to be delayed. In the meantime, the Counsel Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun who is also representing Najib and Tengku Adnan said he had also been instructed by his clients’ to hasten the case.
PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is currently serving five years in Sungai Buloh prison for a sodomy conviction, Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar, Batu MP Tian Chua, former PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Gerakan Harapan Baru member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad are the plaintiffs in the suit filed on Aug 12. They named Najib, Tengku Adnan, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the Election Commission as defendants.
