Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby today, Nur Jazlan said Mahathir had no locus standi to sue Najib.

“What he’s doing is just a political gimmick. He just wants publicity. In court, he has no locus standi because the RM2.6 billion (political donation) has nothing to do with him.

“On what basis does he want to sue? If as a citizen, that means he has no locus standi. Only people who feel victimised can sue.

“To me there’s no locus standi. So let the court decide on this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, speaking to reporters, shared a different point of view when he said that any tax-paying citizen had the right to sue “ministers or government officials if they failed to carry out their duties responsibly.”

“For example, abuse of power, we, as the rakyat, can sue them. They are subject to legal action.”

When asked about Nur Jazlan’s comment saying that Mahathir had no locus standi to sue Najib, Tengku Razaleigh reiterated his argument, saying that “as long as the citizen pays tax, he has the right and locus standi” to sue any minister.

“As a taxpayer and as a citizen of the country, you have a responsibility. So if public officials do not carry out their functions or duties responsibly, you can take legal action,” Tengku Razaleigh said.

Meanwhile Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said, when asked by the media to comment on the issue, admitted she was shocked by the news.

“I was shocked. Wait for my statement,” she said.

Earlier today, Mahathir and two vocal critics of Najib, Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Anina Saadudin, filed a legal suit against Najib over claims of abuse of power in office.