High Court judge Ahmad Bache, in dismissing his application, said there were no strong grounds for the court to stay the summary judgment order dated July 22, 2020.

“The defendant (Najib) failed to discharge the burden of proving the existence of ‘special circumstances’ to the satisfaction of this court,” he said in a written judgment.

“He has not shown any cogent evidence to prove the LHDN’s inability to compensate. All these reasons merit consideration and that the balance should tilt in favour of LHDN and not granting the stay.”

The court also ordered the former prime minister to pay RM15,000 in costs.

Summary judgment is obtained when the court decides on a case, through written submissions, without a full trial and calling witnesses.

LHDN filed the lawsuit against Najib last year, claiming tax arrears of over RM1.69 billion.

However, Ahmad noted that “all is not lost” for Najib, as he can still negotiate with the taxman in paying some amount to settle his tax, pending a hearing before the Special Commissioner of Income Tax (SCIT) tribunal.

“Counsel for LHDN had indicated that the defendant may have made some efforts in meeting LHDN officials for discussions but no efforts have been made to make any form of payments to the government, perhaps in the form of instalments,” he said.

“The court believes that the LHDN is always open for discussion regarding payment.”

Najib has since filed an appeal to quash the summary judgment order, and the Court of Appeal is set to hear his application on Wednesday.

A bankruptcy notice was also filed against him in February after he failed to pay the RM1.69 billion, as the summary judgment was not stayed.