High Court Judge Roz Mawar recused from presiding suit against ex-AG
Published on: Fri, Jul 04, 2025
By: Bernama Text Size: PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today allowed the appeal by former attorney-general (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas to recuse a High Court judge from presiding over Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad's malicious prosecution suit against him. A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Supang Lian, Datuk Faizah Jamaludin and Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin set aside the High Court's decision.
Advertisement In January, the High Court judge, Roz Mawar Rozain, dismissed Thomas's application to recuse her from hearing the case. In today's proceeding, Justice Faizah, who delivered the court's unanimous decision, said there was a real danger of bias on the part of the High Court judge if she continues to hear the case, although it may be unintentional. 'The learned High Court judge is to be recused from hearing all future proceedings and the trial in the civil suit,' she said. Justice Faizah said the High Court judge's findings and observations during her ruling on Thomas's striking-out application revealed her views on the merits of Shahril's case against Thomas. 'As an informed and fair-minded bystander, given the facts and circumstances of the case, we perceive that these findings and observations do give rise to a risk of real danger of bias by the learned judge,' she said. The court ordered a legal cost of RM30,000 to be awarded to Thomas for proceedings in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. In July last year, Roz Mawar rejected Thomas' application to strike out Shahrir's lawsuit and ordered the case to go for a full hearing. Shahrir had filed the suit against Thomas, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya, the MACC and the Malaysian Government. The former Johor Bahru Member of Parliament's lawsuit concerns a RM1 million cheque he received from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for restoration work on the Puri Langkasuka housing project in Larkin, Johor. Thomas, who served as AG from June 2018 to February 2020, refuted Shahrir's allegations of abuse of power, describing them as 'unsustainable'. Thomas further explained that he resigned on Feb 28, 2020, and that Shahrir's criminal trial for the charges began on July 26, 2022. On Jan 5, 2023, High Court Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin acquitted Shahrir on the charge of failing to declare the RM1 million income received from Najib to the Inland Revenue Board. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
‘Carbon tax will be gradual, not a barrier to investment'
Bilateral synergy: Anwar addressing the audience during a roundtable meeting in Paris with French captains of industry. — Bernama PARIS: The proposed carbon tax, to be finalised in several months, should not be considered a problem for investing companies, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He said the proposed tax would be carried out cautiously and gradually. 'We are finalising that in the next few months. 'I know about the trend of decarbonisation (which is) strong and compelling, but we have to be realistic. 'The proposed tax should not be seen as a problem at the expense of investing companies,' he said during a question and answer session at a roundtable meeting with French captains of industry. More than 42 representatives from French companies and 18 representatives from Malaysian companies attended the event. The French representatives had positive remarks about working in Malaysia, with several of them noting that they invested because they believed in the country. Anwar also said that Malaysia, which focuses on neutrality, is friendly to all including having excellent relations with China, adding that having economic fundamentals remains the core focus. 'We engage and respond to all. At the end of the day, peace and stability are important in carrying out business. We are in one of the most peaceful regions in the world and one with the fastest growing economies,' he said. Anwar also took time to speak with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to congratulate him on the Liberal Party's recent electoral victory. 'I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Carney and his new administration to strengthen the longstanding Malaysia-Canada partnership for the mutual benefit of our peoples,' he said. Malaysia, he added, remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Canada across various sectors, including trade, investment and defence cooperation. 'I'm pleased with PETRONAS' continued involvement in the LNG Canada project, as it clearly symbolises strong cooperation in the energy sector,' he said. He called on Canada to reconsider visa exemptions for Malaysians, noting that both countries are Commonwealth members.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Power cut for a time to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Kyiv blames Russian strike
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Alina Smutko/File Photo VIENNA (Reuters) -All external power lines supplying electricity to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine were down for several hours on Friday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said, but the station's management later said power had been restored. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, acknowledged that power had been restored after 3 1/2 hours. But he added in a statement on X that nuclear safety "remains extremely precarious in Ukraine." Ukraine's energy minister blamed Russian shelling for severing the last power line to the plant and its six reactors. The country's power distribution operator said its technicians had taken action to restore it. Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, which is not operating but still requires power to keep its nuclear fuel cool, switched during the outage to running on diesel generators, the IAEA said. The organization has repeatedly warned of the risk of a catastrophic accident at Zaporizhzhia, which is located near the front line in the war in Ukraine. Its reactors are shut down, but the nuclear fuel inside them still needs to be cooled, which requires constant power. The plant's Russia-installed management issued a statement on Telegram saying the high-voltage line to the plant had been restored. The statement said there had been no disruptions to operations at the plant, no violations of security procedures and no rise in background radiation levels beyond normal levels. The IAEA had earlier said that the plant had lost all off-site power for the ninth time during the military conflict and for the first time since late 2023. "The ZNPP currently relies on power from its emergency diesel generators, underlining (the) extremely precarious nuclear safety situation," it said. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galuschenko wrote on Telegram that a Russian strike had cut off the plant. "The enemy struck the power line connecting the temporarily occupied (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant) with the integrated power system of Ukraine." Ukrenergo, the sole operator of high-voltage lines in Ukraine, said its specialists had brought it back into service. "Ukrenergo specialists have brought back into service the high-voltage line which supplies the temporarily occupied power station," it said on Telegram. Neither the IAEA nor the plant's Russian-installed management initially cited a cause for the cut-off. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia station in the first weeks of Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side regularly accuses the other of firing or taking other actions that could trigger a nuclear accident. (Reporting by Francois Murphy in Vienna and Ronald Popeski in WinnipegEditing by Peter Graff and Matthew Lewis)
New Straits Times
7 hours ago
- New Straits Times
PM discusses high-impact strategic partnerships with 40 French captains of industry
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today chaired a roundtable meeting with 40 captains of industry from France with operations in Malaysia to discuss strategic investment and partnership opportunities in high-impact sectors at the global level. He said Malaysia offers a strategic position as a gateway into the Asean market, supported by political stability as well as investor-friendly policies and a dynamic industrial ecosystem. "I emphasised that Malaysia is now a major hub in the clean energy, semiconductor, and electrical and electronic sectors, and continues to play an important role in the oil and gas industry. "This potential has also been strengthened with the implementation of investment faciliation initiatives by government agencies," he posted on his personal X account, @anwaribrahim, after the meeting that was held in Paris on Friday. Anwar is leading a Malaysian delegation to the city in conjunction with a two-day official visit to France. French companies that participated in the roundtable session included Air Liquide, L'Oréal, Axens, Schneider Electric and Thales which have been well established in Malaysia and continue to show their strong commitment. Anwar said that at the same time, the government is also focusing on empowering small and medium enterprises so they can participate in the global supply chain and become strategic partners to foreign investors, including through technology transfer, training and talent development. "I also encouraged French companies to explore Special Economic Zones and halal parks in Malaysia as well as to establish collaborations in renewable energy, CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage), the digital economy, defence and aerospace in line with the country's inclusive and sustainable economic reformation agenda," he added. France has remained one of Malaysia's top five trading partners among European Union members. In 2024, the bilateral trade between the two nations reached RM15.95 billion (US$3.63 billion), and for the January-May 2025 period, a total of RM6.26 billion (US$1.49 billion) was recorded. – Bernama
