Latest news with #Shahrir
New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Court reserves decision on Tommy Thomas' bid to recuse judge in Shahrir's suit
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today reserved its decision on former attorney-general (A-G) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas' bid to recuse a High Court judge from presiding over Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad's malicious prosecution suit against him. A three-member bench led by Datuk Supang Lian said the court required time to deliberate on the "weighty and substantial" issues raised by both parties. The other members of the panel were appellate court judges Datuk Faizah Jamaludin and Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin. Lawyer Allan Gomez, representing the former A-G, submitted that High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain should recuse herself from hearing the case due to potential bias. He said that the judge had made premature and unsubstantiated determinations in pre-trial rulings that went beyond the pleadings, potentially compromising the integrity of the upcoming trial. Meanwhile, Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, who appeared for Shahrir, contended that Roz Mawar had made no such determinations. He submitted that the judge merely ruled the matters raised deserved to be ventilated further in a full trial. The appellate court fixed June 12 for case management. Roz Mawar had earlier dismissed Thomas' recusal application in January this year, ruling that it lacked merit. This followed her decision in July 2024 to also reject Thomas' application to strike out Shahrir's suit. She ruled that the former Johor Baru member of Parliament's claim did not amount to an abuse of court process and should be heard in full. Shahrir filed the suit against Thomas, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya, the MACC and the government, citing malicious prosecution, malicious investigation, and wrongful arrest. He alleged that Thomas had prematurely authorised his prosecution before the investigation was complete, particularly in relation to a charge for allegedly failing to declare RM1 million received from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the Inland Revenue Board. Shahrir was fully acquitted in January 2023 after the prosecution withdrew the case.
The Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Appeals court defers decision in Tommy Thomas' appeal to recuse judge
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has deferred the decision in an appeal filed by former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas ( pic ) who is seeking to recuse a High Court judge from hearing a RM30mil lawsuit filed against him by Tan Sri Shahrir Samad. A three-judge panel chaired by Justice Supang Lian made the deferment after hearing submissions from parties in an online proceedings here on Thursday (June 5). Other judges on the bench were Justices Faizah Jamaludin and Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin. Earlier, the appellate court heard from Thomas's lawyer Alan Gomez that the application for a judge to recuse oneself was not personal in nature but it was intended to ensure a fair trial. Gomez said there was a probability that the judge (Justice Roz Mawar Rozain) who had dismissed Thomas's application to strike out Shahrir's lawsuit could have had her opinion and perception before the actual trial began. He said Justice Roz Mawar should recuse herself as she had made findings that were unsupported by evidence in the pre-trial application. Meanwhile, Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, who represented Shahrir, said that the High Court's finding was an inference and not a factual finding that touched on the merit of the lawsuit. The panel then fixed June 12 for case management to set a date for decision. On Jan 14, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Thomas's application to recuse Justice Roz Mawar from hearing Shahrir's defamation suit against Thomas and three others over alleged malicious prosecution. In making the decision, Justice Roz Mawar said an unhealthy trend had emerged of litigants seeking to recuse judges from hearing their cases which is capable of eroding public confidence in the judicial arm of the state. She also awarded costs of RM20,000 to Shahrir. Thomas filed the recusal application on Aug 26, last year claiming that Justice Roz Mawar had made numerous baseless findings and contradictory statements to the claims in the lawsuit and the evidence presented in court. However, Shahrir objected to the application, arguing that the judge should not recuse herself simply because Thomas was dissatisfied with her reasoning. On July 3, last year, Justice Roz Mawar dismissed Thomas' application to strike out the lawsuit. She fixed March 9 to 12 and April 27 to 29, 2026 for a full hearing on the merits of the case. Shahrir, who is a former Johor Bahru MP, filed the lawsuit in December, 2023, naming Thomas, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya, the MACC, and the government as defendants. Shahrir's lawsuit concerns an RM1mil cheque he received from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for restoration work on the Puri Langkasuka housing project in Larkin, Johor. Thomas, who served as 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 said 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 Justice Muhammad Jamil Hussin acquitted Shahrir on the charge of failing to declare the RM1mil income received from Najib to the Inland Revenue Board.
