The court rules the 10 opposition leaders who filed the class action have no legal standing.
A three-man bench chaired by Ahmadi Asnawi said the respondents did not have legal standing to file the suit against the three appellants.
“There is also no contract between the parties (youth leaders) and the appellant (Najib, government and 1MDB),” he said in allowing the appeal to strike out the suit filed in July.
Ahmadi added that the youth leaders could not include the government as party to the suit as the state did not come within the ambit of the Government Proceedings Act.
Others on the bench were Idrus Harun and Kamardin Hashim.
Ahmadi also ordered the youth leaders to pay RM10,000 each to the three appellants although their lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla only offered RM2,600 to each of them.
On Jan 9, High Court judge Hue Siew Kheng dismissed Najib, the government and 1MDB’s applications to annul the suit on grounds the youth leaders had the legal standing to bring the suit as the payment involved public funds.
The judge also held that the litigants had an arguable case and the matter must go for trial.
Hue said Najib, the government and 1MDB also failed to provide sufficient materials for the court’s consideration to annul the suit since Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani had said he was very confident state investor 1MDB would win the arbitration case with IPIC.
Today, lawyer Mohamed Hafarizam Harun appeared for Najib, counsel Tan Hock Chuan for 1MDB while Senior Federal Counsel Alice Loke Ying Ching represented the government.
Last year, the High Court struck out three 1MDB related suits brought by former minister Zaid Ibrahim, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad together with ex-Umno members Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Anina Saadudin.
The youth leaders, who identified themselves as Gerakan Anakmuda Tolak Najib (Ganti), sought a court order that the settlement agreement on May 11, 2016 between IPIC and 1MDB at the London International Court of Arbitration be declared invalid.
They also sought to compel Najib, the government and 1MDB to provide detailed accounts of all money paid to IPIC and its subsidiary, Aabar Investment PJS.
It claimed the consent award agreed on between IPIC and Aabar Investment PJS in London was wrong and fraudulent.
The group said it was forced to sue Najib and two others as no action had been taken on those who made the “fraud payments” to the British Virgin Island-registered Aabar Investment PJS Limited or Aabar BVI, which IPIC claimed was not its subsidiary.
IPIC’s subsidiary is Aabar Investment PJS, without the Ltd.
On April 24, 2016, 1MDB said in a statement that IPIC had agreed on a settlement following arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration.
“As per the settlement, 1MDB will, among others, make certain payments to IPIC and will assume responsibility for all future interest and principal payments for two bonds issued by the 1MDB group of companies due in 2022,” the company said.
1MDB previously claimed it had paid IPIC’s subsidiary, Aabar BVI, a total of RM3.51 billion between 2012 and 2014.
However, IPIC disputed this in 2016, claiming it never received the money.
According to filings with the London Stock Exchange, IPIC said it would receive US$1.2 billion in two equal payments on July 31 and Dec 31.
The state investor had settled the amount.
Pasir Pinji assemblyman Howard Lee and PPBM youth executive council member Mahathir Mohd Rais, two of the youth leaders who filed the suit, were present to follow the proceedings.
Lee said they had given instruction to Haniff to file an appeal in the Federal Court.
“We started the legal battle in the High Court and will go up to the Federal Court now to determine whether taxpayers could sue a company sustained by public funds,” he told reporters.
Najib, 2 others fail to annul suit over US$1.2 billion payment
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