Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain held that the plaintiff Hatta Sanuri had no locus standi to initiate the suit and that it was an abuse of the court process.
“It is imperative that the court and the judiciary refrain from engaging in matters that fall squarely within the domain of the executive and legislative branches.
“Moreover, it is observed that the plaintiff failed to disclose in his statement of claim that he was indeed authorised or appointed to represent each taxpayer or citizen.
“This court finds that there was an abuse of process. Allowing the lawsuit to proceed without a clear and direct cause of action could open the floodgates to frivolous litigation, potentially invalidating the judicial system with cases brought forth by individuals or groups without direct or substantial interest in the matter,” she said.
She then ordered Hatta to pay RM10,000 in costs.
The suit, filed by Hatta on Dec 30 last year, named former prime ministers Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin as defendants. Former economic affairs minister Mustapa Mohamed, former transport minister Wee Ka Siong, and the government were also made defendants in the suit.
He alleged Mahathir was negligent and had committed tort of misfeasance in public office by postponing the HSR project after Pakatan Harapan came to power in 2018.
Hatta claimed that the Malaysian government and all Malaysians had to then pay as much as RM46 million in compensation to Singapore.
He also alleged that Muhyiddin was negligent and had committed tort of misfeasance in public office when the Perikatan Nasional-led government terminated the project on Jan 1, 2021, with Malaysia having to pay Singapore RM320 million in compensation as part of its obligations under the bilateral agreement.
He had sought a court order to declare the cancellation of the project null and void, as well as for the defendants to pay RM1 million in compensation to him and all Malaysians for wrongfully and negligently cancelling the HSR project.
The defendants were represented by the senior federal counsel Donald Joseph Franklin, while lawyer Nur Izatul Nabila Nazarudin represented the plaintiff.
Malaysia and Singapore first inked a bilateral agreement on the project on Dec 13, 2016, but terminated the project on Jan 1, 2021 after several delays. The project, which involves 350km of development, would shorten the travelling time from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to a mere 90 minutes.
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