KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here today dismissed an application by former attorney general (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas to recuse judge Roz Mawar Rozain from hearing the defamation suit filed by Tan Sri Shahrir Ab Samad against him and three others over alleged malicious prosecution.
In making the decision, Roz Mawar said an unhealthy trend had emerged of litigants seeking to recuse judges from hearing their cases which is capable of eroding public confidence in the judicial arm of the state.
“A litigant is entitled to apply to recuse a judge but it must be made after considering the harm that it may impose on the integrity of the judiciary and to the administration of justice.
“To my mind, the cavalier manner in which the recusal applications were filed and the grounds relied upon were so frivolous and flimsy, and if I may say so, even disrespectful, that the entire application borders on contempt of court,” she said.
Roz Mawar also awarded costs of RM20,000 to Shahrir and set March 4 to hear Thomas’s application to stay proceedings of the trial pending the outcome of his appeal in the Court of Appeal.
Lawyer Alan Adrian Gomez, represented Thomas, while Shahrir was represented by lawyer Datuk Syed Faisal Al-Edros Syed Abdullah and Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin.
Thomas filed the application on August 26, last year claiming that Roz Mawar had made numerous baseless findings and contradictory statements to the claims in the lawsuit and the evidence presented in court.
However, Shahrir objected to the application, arguing that the judge should not recuse herself simply because Thomas was dissatisfied with her reasoning.
On July 3 last year, Roz Mawar dismissed Thomas’ application to strike out the lawsuit, and the case was scheduled for a full hearing over seven days, from March 9 to 12 and April 27 to 29, 2026.
The former Johor Bahru MP filed the suit in December 2023, naming Thomas, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya, MACC, and the government as defendants.
Shahrir’s suit concerns an RM1 million cheque he received from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for restoration work on the Puri Langkasuka housing project in Larkin, Johor.
Thomas, who served as AG from June 4, 2018, to February 28, 2020, refuted Shahrir’s allegations of abuse of power, describing them as “unsustainable”.
He stated that the discretion to charge could only be exercised after the AG receives the investigation papers from agencies like MACC.
Thomas further explained that he resigned on February 28, 2020, and that Shahrir’s criminal trial for the charges began on July 26, 2022.
On January 5, 2023, high court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin acquitted Shahrir on the charge of failing to declare the RM1 million income received from Najib to the Inland Revenue Board. – January 14, 2025