COURT STRIKES OUT PUA’S SUIT AGAINST PM, GOVT ON 1MDB

Court rules that Pua failed to plead particulars of misfeasance in case

THE suit brought by Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament Tony Pua against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the government on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) issue was struck out by the High Court yesterday.

In her judgment, judicial commissioner Datin Faizah Jamaludin said Najib did not commit the tort of misfeasance in public office, which targeted malice to the plaintiff (Pua).

Faizah held that Pua had failed to plead the particulars of misfeasance in his claim, which made it highly speculative.

“The court finds that the plaintiff has not established on the face of his pleadings that he has sufficient legal rights or interest to bring a claim against the first defendant (Najib) for tort of misfeasance in public office.

“Monies used by the Minister of Finance Incorporated to subscribe to the shares of 1MDB does not, in itself, amount to dissipation or misappropriation of taxpayers’ monies.

“This is especially so given that 1MDB is a Finance Ministry owned company and the shareholders subscribing for shares is in the normal course of business,” she said, ordering Pua to pay RM10,000 as costs.

The court also found that Pua’s claims that his taxpayer’s money will be used in the future to honour the guarantees and assurances given by the government for the 1MDB bonds were not supported by his pleadings and too remote in law to accord him any legal rights or cause of action.

Faizah, after allowing Najib’s application, held that the prime minister and the finance minister were not public officers.

“I’m also bound by the Court of Appeal’s decision which ruled that the prime minister and the minister of finance cannot be sued,” she said, adding that Pua’s action in filing the suit was an abuse of the court’s process and was unsustainable as it had no reasonable cause of action.

“This court finds that the plaintiff, as a taxpayer, would not be able to establish the necessary causal link that he suffered the loss and damage claimed or that the defendant’s acts caused those losses,” she said.

Lawyer Tan Sri Cecil Abraham appeared for Najib while Gobind Singh Deo represented Pua.

Najib filed the application to strike out Pua’s suit on Feb 14 on grounds that he was not a civil servant as alleged by Pua in his statement of claim, and that the suit was an abuse of the court process.

The government filed its application to strike out the suit on March 2 on grounds that Pua had no locus standi to make the claim and that the suit was frivolous, vexatious and did not disclose a reasonable cause of action.

Pua sued the government and Najib on Jan 16 claiming that the latter committed misfeasance in public office involving 1MDB funds.