Anwar allowed interim stay, June 16 ‘assault' suit vacated

Free Malaysia Today

19 hours ago

The Court of Appeal said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had shown special circumstances justifying the grant of a stay of the trial.
PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal has granted Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim an ad-interim stay of a civil suit brought by a former research assistant over an alleged assault.
The temporary stay is pending a full hearing of the prime minister's application, which will take place on July 21.
A three-member bench chaired by Justice Supang Lian said Anwar had shown special circumstances to justify the grant of the application.
'We are of the considered view that under Section 44 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, we are empowered to make an ad-interim order to preserve the integrity of the appellant's (Anwar) stay.
'Accordingly, the trial in the High Court will be stayed pending the disposal of the stay application,' said Supang.
Also on the panel hearing the application were Justices Faizah Jamaludin and Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin.
The bench also clarified that parties need not exchange witness statements on Friday (June 13) as directed by High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain last week, given today's decision.
The trial of the suit was scheduled to take place before Roz Mawar over seven days between June 16 and June 25 after she dismissed Anwar's reference application on grounds that none of the questions posed succeeded in crossing the threshold set out in Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act.
In her 21-page judgment, she said the application was misconceived as to the jurisdiction of the courts, and was based on speculative doctrines with no constitutional footing.
The prime minister wanted the apex court to rule on whether Articles 5(1), 8(1), 39, 40 and 43 of the Federal Constitution grant him qualified immunity from the suit filed by Yusoff Rawther four years ago.
The suit filed by Yusoff relates to events which allegedly took place before Anwar took office on Nov 24, 2022.
Anwar is appealing to the Court of Appeal against Roz Mawar's refusal to refer eight legal questions arising from the suit to the Federal Court for determination. He is seeking a stay of all proceedings pending the disposal of the appeal.
Yusoff, a grandson of the late Penang consumer advocate SM Mohamed Idris, claims he was assaulted at Anwar's home in Segambut in October 2018.
He is seeking general, special, aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as interest, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court. Anwar denies the claim and has filed a countersuit.
Today, before the bench, lawyer Alan Wong, appearing for Anwar, said the appeal against Roz Mawar's decision would be rendered academic and nugatory if the interim stay was disallowed.
'There is no prejudice to the plaintiff if the trial is suspended. He can be compensated in the event that the plaintiff proves his case,' he added.
He said the seven-day trial would also disrupt and cause irreversible harm to the prime minister's executive function.
'It is not an ordinary suit but one laced with political motive,' he added.
Counsel Rafique Rashid Ali submitted that the appeal on the reference questions was doomed to fail as they were rhetorical and had no basis in Malaysian jurisprudence.
He also said the defendant knew the trial dates as they were fixed on June 6 last year.
'Yet he filed the reference application 23 days before the trial was to start through his new solicitors,' Rafique said, adding that his client should have his day in court as the suit was filed in 2021.
Lawyers Shahir Tahir, K Rajasegaran, and SM Kavyaasrini also appeared for Anwar while Nurmustanir Nor and Amirul Ar-Rashid Azman acted for Yusoff.