PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has granted a stay in the civil suit filed against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 2021 by his former research officer Muhammed Yusoff Rawther over allegations of sexual assault.
The decision effectively puts the High Court trial on hold, pending the outcome of constitutional issues that are being brought before the Federal Court.
The decision, made by a three-member panel yesterday, means the trial will not proceed until the appellate court hears the prime minister’s appeal against the High Court’s refusal to refer key constitutional questions to the apex court.
Case management has been set for Sept 2, during which a hearing date for the appeal will be scheduled.
In a statement, Anwar’s lead counsel Datuk Seri Rajasegaran S. Krishnan stressed that the prime minister is not seeking immunity from legal action or attempting to avoid trial.
“The prime minister is simply asserting his right to raise constitutional questions of public importance before the trial begins,” he said.
Among the questions raised are whether civil suits involving a sitting prime minister’s conduct prior to taking office should be subject to safeguards, and whether there should be protection from politically motivated suits aimed at undermining a government – similar to SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) cases.
The legal team also questioned whether a filtering mechanism should be in place, similar to those applied to judges or Malay Rulers under Article 183 of the Federal Constitution before such suits are allowed to proceed.
“These are serious and unprecedented questions. If not addressed, any prime minister could be targeted with lawsuits timed for political impact, risking the stability of the executive,” the statement added.
The stay allows the appellate courts to consider the constitutional implications before the trial resumes.
“The prime minister has nothing to hide and is ready to respond to all claims through a process that respects the constitution and the balance of powers it upholds,” said Rajasegaran.
The civil suit against Anwar was filed by Yusoff who alleged that he was sexually harassed by Anwar in 2018.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021, claims the incident took place at Anwar’s private office. Anwar has strongly denied the allegation, calling it baseless and politically motivated. The High Court had previously fixed the trial to begin in June this year.
Anwar had sought the apex court to rule whether Articles 5, 8, 39, 40 and 43 of the Federal Constitution grant him qualified immunity from Yusoff’s suit.
Anwar had asked the court to decide whether Yusoff’s suit would impair the effective discharge of his executive duties and undermine the constitutional separation of powers. He had also requested the court to consider whether the lawsuit impacts his ability to carry out executive duties and undermines the principle of separation of powers guaranteed by the constitution.
