In an affidavit filed to oppose Muda’s lawsuit, Azam said the party’s secretary-general Amir Hadi cannot bring the civil action in his personal capacity.
He said only individuals who are named as office-bearers in records kept by the Registrar of Societies (RoS) can initiate a civil suit on behalf of a registered society.
Muda’s suit seeks a declaration that the MACC probe into Nazlan was “unconstitutional”.
Azam also noted that the subject matter of the action had already been decided by the Federal Court earlier this year in a similar lawsuit brought by lawyers Haris Ibrahim, Nur Ain Mustapa and Sreekant Pillai against the anti-graft body.
“MACC urges the court to dismiss this (Amir’s) originating summons since the issue has been rendered academic,” said Azam.
In February, the apex court held that MACC’s investigation into Nazlan was done without following protocol. It said investigative bodies must consult the chief justice before commencing a probe into a sitting superior court judge.
The Federal Court added that MACC’s failure to inform Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat of the intended application showed a lack of good faith on the investigators’ part.
Azam also said MACC’s letter to the top judge dated Feb 22 was only intended to convey the agency’s “opinion” on a potential breach of ethics by Nazlan.
“That ‘opinion’ is now irrelevant because the Federal Court had delivered a ruling (in the earlier case),” he said.
Azam also denied that his agency was involved in any “leak” of the letter which surfaced in the public domain shortly after it was issued.
“That is an unfair conclusion to make,” he added.
Azam said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had answered all questions relating to the Nazlan probe in the Dewan Negara last month.
Anwar told the Senate MACC’s findings did not suggest that a criminal offence had been committed. The attorney-general’s chambers agreed with that conclusion, the prime minister had said.
On July 28, 2020, Nazlan convicted Najib Razak on charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million belonging to SRC International, which had been deposited into the former prime minister’s bank accounts.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million. The conviction and sentence were upheld by the Court of Appeal on Dec 8, 2021, and the Federal Court on Aug 23, 2022.
Najib is currently serving his jail term at the Kajang prison.