High Court judge Justice Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan ordered the plaintiffs to pay the defendants a total of RM8,000 in costs. However, he granted them liberty to refile the suit.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Zainuddin Abu Bakar, earlier told the court that they had decided to withdraw the case to reassess their legal strategy before refiling.
“We found that it’s best for us to withdraw the suit, file afresh, and reevaluate the list of defendants so that the case can proceed smoothly,” he said.
In his ruling, Raja Ahmad said he told the plaintiffs in a previous case management to consider refiling due to a lack of scientific evidence – a key weakness in their case.
“In order for you to institute this kind of action, you need to have your records straight. This needs to be based on scientific evidence.
“The way you conducted this case, you need to study certain things because this is a case of high magnitude. You need to firm up your case,” he said.
He also urged the parties involved to thoroughly evaluate their facts and evidence before initiating any legal action, especially in cases of such magnitude.
Zainuddin told FMT that they would file a new suit in the near future after settling the cost.
He also said that the lawsuit was withdrawn after four of the original eight plaintiffs opted out, while the remaining still wanted to proceed.
To avoid confusion, he said the judge had suggested withdrawing the suit and refiling it with only those who wished to continue.
“After reviewing (the suggestion), we agreed and wrote a letter to the court to hold another case management, which was today,” he said.
In the original statement of claim, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, former prime ministers Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the health ministry, and the government were also named as defendants.
Other defendants included health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad and his predecessors, Dr Adham Baba and Khairy Jamaluddin; home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and his predecessor Hamzah Zainudin; and education minister Fadhlina Sidek and her predecessor Radzi Jidin.
The plaintiffs also named former health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah as well as the former and current inspectors-general of police as defendants.
The plaintiffs alleged that they were adversely affected by the government’s “negligent and erroneous public health policy” mandating vaccination at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic four years ago.
They also sought a court declaration, among others, that the Covid-19 virus was “fake” and man-made, and that the use of medicine such as ivermectin and colchicine without prior vaccine should be allowed.
They likewise asked the court to cancel all programmes such as the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.