Anwar It S About Protecting Pmo Not Personal Immunity

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Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim insisted that his bid to suspend a lawsuit against him was never about seeking personal immunity from litigation.
The premier said this after the Kuala Lumpur High Court rejected his bid to pause the civil suit filed by his former aide, Yusoff Rawther.
“This matter has never been about seeking personal immunity or escaping legal scrutiny.
“It concerns the integrity of our constitutional system and the need to ensure that high public office is protected from litigation that may be strategically timed, politically motivated, or institutionally disruptive,” Anwar said on Facebook today.
Earlier, High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain said the eight constitutional questions Anwar had sought to refer to the Federal Court did not meet the required threshold.
“From a judicial perspective, the proposed questions do not appear to meet the threshold of genuine constitutional controversy… what is clear is that not every question touches on the constitutional qualities for referral under Section 84 of the Courts of the Judicature Act 1964.
“This court must be satisfied that the constitutional questions are genuine and material to the resolution of this case, as the Federal Court is not a forum for speculative or defensive advisory opinions.
“This court… is not satisfied, so the application to refer the proposed questions to the Federal Court is declined,” the judge ruled.
As such, the judge ordered that the trial proceed as scheduled on June 16.
Applying for redress
Subsequently, Anwar’s counsel Rajasegaran Krishnan said they would approach the Court of Appeal for redress.
Touching on the verdict, Anwar said he remained committed to the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and democratic governance.
“The legal process will continue, and I will continue to discharge my responsibilities without distraction or compromise,” the Tambun MP added.
Anwar filed the application last week, requesting that eight constitutional questions be referred to the Federal Court, premised on whether he gets immunity from civil proceedings initiated by Yusoff.
Yusoff filed a civil action in 2021 over allegations that Anwar had sexually assaulted him at the PKR president’s office in October 2018. - Mkini

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