Najib appoints lawyer in Dr M lawsuit

(Malay Mail Online) – Lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun said today that he has been appointed to represent Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a lawsuit filed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Mohd Hafarizam said he will be writing in to Dr Mahathir’s lawyer to ask for the lawsuit documents to be served on him as Najib’s lawyer.

“I just got the (appointment) letter, I am to act for Datuk Seri Najib. I’ll accept service on behalf of my client,” he told reporters at the court complex here.

He said April 20 has been fixed for case management of Dr Mahathir’s lawsuit over alleged tort of misfeasance and breach of fiduciary duties.

On March 23, Dr Mahathir and two others filed the lawsuit against Najib for alleged misuse of power and breach of duty, claiming that the prime minister had interfered in government investigations on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the RM2.6 billion political donation.

This is the first lawsuit against Najib by Dr Mahathir, Malaysia’s longest serving former prime minister who has been leading a campaign calling for the former’s removal over alleged financial irregularities.

The two others who filed the lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court are Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Anina Saadudin, two former Umno members who earlier this month signed the “Citizens’ Declaration” along with Dr Mahathir and 42 others to seek Najib’s resignation as the prime minister.

The plaintiffs are seeking for the court to declare that Najib has committed the alleged tort by using his official positions as prime minister, Barisan Nasional chairman and Umno president to interfere with the investigations, as well as to “unjustly punish” them for exercising their rights and duties as citizens to question and demand answers on 1MDB, the RM2.6 billion donation and a RM42 million sum involving former 1MDB unit SRC International.

They also want the court to order Najib to pay exemplary damages of RM2.6 billion and aggravated damages of RM42 million to the government of Malaysia, although they said the exact sum will be left to the court to assess.

On January 26, Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib of criminal wrongdoing in the corruption probes on former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd, and the transfer of an alleged RM2.6 billion donation into the prime minister’s private accounts.