KUALA LUMPUR: The hearing of former Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas’ application to recuse Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain in the civil suit filed by Tan Sri Shahrir Ab Samad against him and three others has been postponed to December 9. Lawyer Mervyn Lai Wei Shiung, representing Thomas, stated that the postponement is to allow Shahrir to respond to a supplemental affidavit filed by Thomas last Friday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the case proceedings took place before Roz Mawar, attended by lawyer Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, representing Shahrir. Thomas filed his application on August 26, asserting that Roz Mawar had made unsubstantiated findings against him, suggesting a pre-determined outcome for Shahrir’s suit. He expressed concerns about receiving a fair trial if Roz Mawar presided over the case.

On July 3, Roz Mawar had dismissed Thomas’ earlier application to strike out the suit, setting the trial for March 9 to 12 and April 27 to 29, 2026. Shahrir, the former Johor Bahru
Member of Parliament, filed the suit in December 2023 regarding an RM1 million cheque from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, intended for rehabilitation works at the Puri Langkasuka housing project in Larkin, Johor.

Thomas, who served as Attorney-General from June 4, 2018, to February 28, 2020, denied Shahrir’s claims, including allegations of misfeasance in public office, labeling them “unsustainable.” He emphasized that the discretion to charge is only exercised after the public prosecutor receives investigation papers from relevant agencies like the MACC. Thomas resigned on February 28, 2020, and Shahrir’s criminal trial commenced on July 26, 2022.

On January 5, 2023, High Court Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin acquitted Shahrir of the charge of failing to declare the RM1 million income to the Inland Revenue Board, following the prosecution’s decision not to proceed with the case.