THE Court of Appeal today decided to stay proceedings in a civil suit filed by former research assistant Muhammed Yusoff Rawther against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
This is to await the Federal Court's decision on the important constitutional issue relating to the immunity of the Prime Minister.
The stay follows Anwar's application to refer eight legal questions to the country's highest court, including the question of whether a Prime Minister has immunity from civil suits while in office.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, unanimously agreed that there were 'special circumstances' that justified the temporary stay of the suit proceedings, which were due to begin at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on June 16.
“If this appeal is not allowed, the reference to the Federal Court will be irrelevant. Therefore, the court is of the view that the postponement is appropriate and does not prejudice any party,” said Che Mohd Ruzima.
The other two judges sitting were Datuk Wong Kian Kheong and Datuk Lim Hock Leng.
The court also set September 2 for further case management.
On June 4, High Court Judge Roz Mawar Rozain rejected Anwar’s application to refer eight constitutional questions to the Federal Court on the grounds that they were speculative and did not meet the requirements under Section 84 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
Among the questions raised by Anwar was whether Articles 39, 40 and 43 of the Federal Constitution gave him conditional immunity from being sued while holding the office of Prime Minister. – July 21, 2025
