KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today dismissed a bid by Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali and PPBM supreme council member Zahid Md Arip to declassify the auditor-general’s report on 1MDB, which has been placed under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Justice Kamaludin Md Said ruled that both men had not established they had legal rights to ask for a declassification of the report.

“It is frivolous to say that their rights were affected by the decision by the auditor-general (A-G) to classify the 1MDB report under the OSA.

“They have no right to obtain the report,” he said, adding that both were “strangers” as to how the A-G’s decision was made.

Justice Kamaludin also said it was not open for the court to declassify the report.

“The report was prepared for the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) for the purpose of investigation. The A-G is not bound under the Federal Constitution to submit the report to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong,” he said.

Justice Kamaludin made no order to cost as this is a public interest case.

Speaking to reporters after the decision, Azmin said he was shocked that the court had ruled he had no legal standing to have access to the report as an elected representative of the people.

“If you look at the admissions of the prime minister, he admitted the company was failing and there were issues of governance. The authorities were instructed to investigate, but why is the report not disclosed?” he asked.

Azmin said he would file an appeal against the decision.

Azmin, in his judicial review application filed in August 2016, cited the then A-G Ambrin Buang’s testimony during Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli’s trial under the OSA that he (the A-G) had classified the report under the OSA on Prime Minister Najib Razak’s instruction.

Azmin said the A-G and Najib could not hide behind the OSA in refusing to make public the report.

He said there was also a conflict of interest on Najib’s part due to the latter’s role at that time as 1MDB adviser.

Meanwhile, Zahid, in his application filed separately against Najib and Ambrin the same month, had said classifying the audit report as a government secret was a breach of the law.

He said the audit report should be presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong when it was completed.

Zahid said there was a conflict of interest in classifying the audit report as a government secret as Najib was alleged to have been involved in the scandal involving 1MDB.

Azmin has no legal standing to sue for A-G’s report on 1MDB, court told