FORMER Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak failed in his appeal to revive his RM1.9 million lawsuit against former Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas.
The unanimous decision was made by a three-judge panel led by Datuk Ravinthran N Paramaguru after dismissing Najib's appeal as appellant and considering the arguments of lawyers Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin and Yudistra Darma Dorai representing Najib, as well as lawyer Alan Andrian Gomez on behalf of Tommy.
The other two judges who also sat were Datuk Wong Kian Kheong and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin.
Ravinthran said Najib was suing Tommy as respondent for administrative misconduct, malicious process and negligence in relation to the exercise of his prosecutorial discretion under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution.
He said the High Court found that the respondent had immunity and his actions were not admissible.
According to him, the High Court also found that the civil action involved was premature because the criminal cases had not been commenced when the suit was filed.
“On the issue of immunity and justifiability, we disagree with the High Court’s decision because Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution does not grant immunity to the Attorney General in relation to civil actions taken against him personally.
“The cases referred to by the High Court are inapplicable as they involve challenges to the Attorney General’s discretion in the context of criminal cases,” he said in proceedings at the Court of Appeal today.
However, he said, his party agreed with the High Court’s decision that since the criminal cases had not been commenced when the civil actions were filed, the claims for administrative misconduct, malicious process and negligence were clearly premature.
“We also find that malicious process ‘tort’ does not exist in our law.
“For these reasons, this appeal is dismissed with costs of RM12,000,” he said.
Previously, Najib had appealed against the Shah Alam High Court's decision on 25 November 2022, which allowed Tommy's application to strike out Najib's suit without a full trial.
In his suit, Najib alleged that Tommy abused his power in public office when he sued him in relation to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds.
Through the suit, Najib claimed that he was accused of corruption in the 1MDB scandal, International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), abuse of power under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA 2001).
Najib is seeking a declaration that Tommy committed abuse of public office and is seeking damages of RM1.9 million, including consultation fees for the audit team to review the documentation to prepare the facts to face prosecution against him. – January 13, 2026
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