This follows the Federal Court’s unanimous decision today refusing Hatta Sanuri leave to appeal in a bid to revive his suit against former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the government which the High Court struck out two years ago.
Justice Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, who led a three-member bench, said there was no merit in the leave application as the law relating to locus standi and justiciability has been conclusively decided upon by the apex court in numerous previous cases.
He also said the issues relating to the tort of misfeasance in public office and negligence are also settled law.
“We find the applicant (Hatta) has failed to cross the threshold to obtain leave under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act,” he said in reference to five questions of law posed to secure leave to appeal.
Sitting with Harmindar were Justices Nordin Hassan and Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil.
The bench made no order as to costs.
Hatta applied for leave to appeal a Court of Appeal ruling that held he had no legal standing to file the action against Mahathir and the government, who were named as respondents.
A three-member appeals court bench had on Nov 15 ruled that Hatta’s suit was an abuse of the court process and his claim was non-justiciable.
It upheld a decision of the Kuala Lumpur High Court handed down on July 1, 2022, which struck out the suit on the application of the respondents.
Hatta had filed the suit in 2021, claiming he was affected by the former Pakatan Harapan government’s decision to withdraw the review filed two years earlier.
He said the government had not provided any explanation for its withdrawal of the application, in light of “new evidence” that he said favoured Malaysia’s bid to overturn the ICJ decision.
He had sought a court declaration for the government to pay RM10 million in compensation to each Malaysian over the decision.
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and Ahmad Hanir Hambaly appeared for the government and the prime minister while Mohaji Selamat and Asyraf Tasrib represented Hatta.