KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here has allowed former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin and his wife Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid’s application to amend their demand in their ongoing judicial review filed against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
High Court judge Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh allowed Daim’s application this morning after hearing submissions from Daim’s lawyer, Mervyn Lai, and senior federal counsel, Liew Horng Bin, who represented MACC.
On January 30, Daim’s family submitted an application to amend their demands, seeking to invalidate the criminal charges brought by MACC against Daim and his wife.
Both Daim and Na’imah have been charged under MACC’s act on January 29 and 23, respectively, for allegedly refusing to declare their assets.
Daim’s family initiated a judicial review against both the MACC and the public prosecutor on January 11. In this legal action, they are requesting a court order to halt any ongoing MACC investigation involving Daim and his family. Additionally, they are also seeking to prevent the public prosecutor from prosecuting any of Daim’s family members.
He is also seeking a court declaration that any charges brought by the public prosecutor against his family members are unconstitutional and void. He argues that he and his family members would not receive a fair trial under such circumstances.
During today’s earlier hearing, Liew objected to Daim’s application, asserting that any request to dismiss criminal charges should be presented in a criminal court rather than through a judicial review application.
Liew cited the precedent of Sundra Rajoo, where the Court of Appeal concurred that applications to strike out criminal charges must be pursued in a criminal court, adding that civil courts, which handle judicial review applications, lack the authority to grant a stay of a criminal trial.
Meanwhile, Lai, who represented Daim and Na’imah, referred to a precedent in an Australian civil court where applications to quash criminal charges were permitted. Consequently, he argued that the Malaysian high court should contemplate a similar course of action.
Prior to today’s application hearing, the high court had scheduled its decision on Daim’s judicial review leave application for March 4. During this session, the court will decide whether Daim and his family can pursue their suit against MACC and the public prosecutor, or if the opposite is true. – February 27, 2024