Appellate Court Orders Interim Stay On Yusoff Rawther Suit Against Anwar

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The Court of Appeal has issued an ad interim stay on all proceedings involving a civil suit brought against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim by Yusoff Rawther, who accused him of sexual assault in 2018.
This is after a three-judge panel allowed Anwar's application to put the civil suit on hold pending the disposal of the prime minister's bid to get a full stay.
The hearing on the full stay application has been set for July 21.
Judge Supang Lian, who chaired the panel, said the decision was unanimous.
"After hearing the submissions of the appellant and respondents' counsels, we are of the considered view that, under Section 44 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, we are empowered to make an ad-interim order to preserve the integrity of the appellant's stay application, pending disposal of the stay application.
"Accordingly, we hereby make an ad interim order to stay all proceedings, including full trial at the High Court, pending the disposal of the appellant's stay application," she said when delivering the decision today.
The decision meant that all hearings involving the civil suit, including its full trial set to commence this Monday, would be on hold until Anwar's application is concluded at the court.
It was reported that the premier had filed two separate applications to pause Yusoff's lawsuit as he is appealing against a decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court last week, where judge Ros Mawar Rozain denied Anwar’s bid to suspend the lawsuit and refer eight constitutional questions to the Federal Court.
'No irreversible harm to Yusoff'
Earlier, the court heard submissions from counsels Alan Wong Teck Wei and Rafique Rashid Ali, who represented Anwar and Yusoff, respectively.
Wong submitted that Anwar's appeal would be "nugatory" if the lawsuit goes to trial pending its disposal, and can cause irreversible harm to the prime minister.
Pointing to Yusoff's claims in the lawsuit, which Wong said is for monetary compensation for damages, the lawyer argued that there is no harm to Yusoff if the case is postponed to a later date.
ADS"I would submit that there is no irreversible harm to the respondent (Yusoff) if the trial is deferred.
"But for the appellant (Anwar) and the public office it holds, which is inseparable, the consequence will be real, irreversible and constitutionally significant," he said.
PM’s work schedule
Wong also made an oral application to introduce the prime minister's work schedule as evidence to support the appellant's argument that the lawsuit can affect his public duties.
Rafique objected to this, citing the principle of access to justice and argued that such evidence should have been tendered in affidavit form ahead of the hearing.
The court then decided that they took judicial note that a prime minister's schedule is always packed and hence not necessary to tender his work schedule.
In his submission, Rafique also argued that the trial dates had been set a year ago and thus Anwar had ample time to make the necessary preparations.
"The case is now fully ripe for trial. There is no reason, legal or procedural, for any further delay, and of fundamental importance is that trial dates were fixed well in advance, with the full knowledge of both parties.
"Significant judicial resources have been allocated to ensure the efficient disposal of this dispute, and allowing a stay at this late juncture, interim or otherwise, would disrupt the court's schedule and prejudice the respondent's right to timely justice," the lawyer said. - Mkini

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