Court strikes out suit against Najib over oath of office

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today allowed an application by Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak (pix) to strike out a suit brought by former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim alleging that the then prime minister had altered the wording of his oath of office in 2009.
Justice Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab made the decision in chambers in the presence of Najib's counsel Nur Shafiqa Balqish Jaffri and Mat Zain's counsel Adenan Ismail.
Nur Shafiqa, when approached by reporters, said the court allowed Najib's application because the suit filed by Mat Zain had become academic and trivial and it would result in a waste of the court's time.
"The oath of office was taken in 2009. The suit brought by the plaintiff (Mat Zain) is no longer relevant because Najib is no more the prime minister," she said.
Nur Shafiqa said the court also ordered costs of RM5,000 to be paid to the defendant (Najib).
Najib had applied to strike out the suit on the grounds that Mat Zain did not have the locus standi to file the suit.
Mat Zain had filed the suit on March 23.
He had claimed in his statement of claim that the oath of office and loyalty that Najib took on April 3, 2009, was not as stipulated in the Federal Constitution and that it had been altered.
He sought a declaration for Najib's subsequent actions as the prime minister and finance minister to be declared null and void. — Bernama