High Court declares law barring retired presidents from active politics unconstitutional

The Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), has submitted a motion to challenge a recent appellate court ruling that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear its lawsuit against a UK law firm, White & Case.

Lawyer Lim Zhi Ying, representing 1MDB, confirmed that the notice of motion was filed on August 28 of this year. The Federal Court is scheduled to hear the appeal on October 12.

1MDB has presented 24 questions of law related to jurisdiction and the consolidation of its suit, seeking clarification from the highest court in Malaysia. Among the issues, the fund questions whether the Court of Appeal should assess connecting factors for forum conveniens by considering the alleged conspiracy as a whole, including the locations of other alleged conspirators and material witnesses.

On August 20, a three-judge bench of the High Court dismissed White & Case's appeal, ruling that the Kuala Lumpur High Court did not have jurisdiction to hear 1MDB's suit. Justice Muniandy stated that 1MDB failed to prove that Malaysia was the most appropriate forum to hear the case, citing the presence of Patrick Mahony, a director of PetroSaudi International Ltd, who resides outside Malaysia and could not serve as a proper anchor defendant.

The High Court also set aside the consolidation of 1MDB's suit against White & Case with another suit filed by the fund against Deutsche Bank and PetroSaudi International. In 2024, 1MDB initiated the lawsuit against White & Case, seeking US1.83 billion and US33 million in losses. The fund alleged that White & Case facilitated PetroSaudi's involvement in alleged fraud and conspiracy against 1MDB, relating to the 2009 Good Star phase joint venture and the 2010 restructuring of 1MDB's stake in the joint venture.