KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is seeking a High Court ruling on several preliminary issues before the civil suit filed by his former aide Muhammed Yusoff Rawther over a purported sexual assault proceeds to a full trial.
Anwar filed the application on March 31 through his solicitors Messrs Christopher & Lee Ong under Section 15 and Section 15A of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964. He argues that resolving these specific points of contention first could potentially dispose of the case entirely, rendering a full trial unnecessary.
Key issues for determination
The prime minister has requested the court to decide on the following claims made by Yusoff:
- whether Anwar’s former private secretary, Shukri Saad, actually instructed Yusoff to personally deliver the copy of a speech to Anwar’s then Bukit Segambut Dalam residence on Oct 2, 2018;
- whether Yusoff had travelled with Anwar’s former security personnel, Norafee Ahmad @ Dekdi, from Anwar’s office in Petaling Jaya, to the Bukit Segambut residence around 3pm on Oct 2, 2018; and
- whether the alleged meeting between Yusoff and Anwar at the residence took place at all on that date.
Anwar has requested that these issues be decided either via affidavit or through in-camera (private) proceedings, as the court sees fit, according to court documents sighted by The Edge.
When contacted, Yusoff’s counsel, Rafique Rashid Ali, confirmed the filing of the application, adding a case management has been fixed on Wednesday, April 8.
Anwar's argument
In his supporting affidavit, Anwar questioned whether Yusoff had established a prima facie case that entitles him to legal relief. Anwar's legal team contends that if these preliminary facts are proven false, the suit lacks a suitable legal basis and should be dismissed.
Anwar has categorically denied Yusoff’s assault allegations, maintaining that he was, on Oct 2, campaigning for the Port Dickson by-election before attending a Mahatma Gandhi event in Brickfields that same afternoon.
Anwar also noted that Norafee had previously stated he was at the Petaling Jaya office on Oct 2, where he remained till 9pm on Oct 2, and that Yusoff did not seek his assistance to bring the latter to the Segambut residence.
Previously, Anwar sought the court's ruling on several constitutional questions, to determine whether a sitting prime minister could be sued. That application was dismissed by the High Court. Anwar initially appealed the dismissal but dropped the appeal earlier this year.
Yusoff, who is turning 33 this year, filed the civil suit against Anwar in July 2021, to seek for damages and reliefs. He alleged that he had been sexually assaulted by Anwar at Anwar’s Segambut home on Oct 2, 2018. He also claimed that the subsequent accusation and harassment he faced — labelling him a conspirator out to ruin Anwar's political career after he lodged a report on the assault — had impacted his mental health.
Anwar, 77, has denied the allegations and filed a countersuit.