The Kuala Lumpur High Court today dismissed a suit by five former senior officers of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) who were sacked after two RMAF F-5E jet engines went missing in 2007.

Judicial Commissioner Zabariah Mohd Yusof made the order in chambers after allowing the government, armed forces chief Jeneral Azizan Ariffin and the Malaysian Armed Forces Council, who were all named as defendants, to strike out the suit.

Earlier she heard submissions from counsel Mohd Syahril Daud, representing the five, and senior federal counsel Aida Adha, for the defendants.

Mohd Syahril told reporters that the court also ordered the five to pay RM7,000 as legal costs to the defendants.

He said the court agreed with the defendants' submissions that the termination of service of the five was made according to the statutory provisions of article 77 of the Armed Forces Act, and that they were governed by public law.

The court also held that the applications challenging the decision could only be made by way of judicial review and not originating summons, Mohd Syahril added.

The court also ruled that the suit could not be maintained in law as it amounted to an abuse of the process of court and was frivolous and vexatious.

Mohd Syahril said he would get his clients' instruction in whether or not to appeal.

The five - Brig Gen Abdul Hadi Abdul Khatab, Major Rusli Ibrahim, Major Noor Zeelan Draman, Lt Col Mohamed Ariff Mohd Daud and Col Mohamad Sani Sumarnak - filed the originating summons on Jan 7 this year.

They said they were sacked and stripped of their commissions around June 2008 for misconduct during investigations into the missing jet engines.

They claimed that as a result, they were embarrassed as if they had cheated the government, caused the armed forces and the government to suffer huge financial losses, conspired with contractors to cheat the government and were not trustworthy senior armed forces officers.

They were also not allowed to use their respective ranks after their services were terminated.

Each sought a declaration that the termination of their service and stripping of their commissions are illegal, flawed and void because the defendants did not specify the misconduct that they had allegedly committed.

They also wanted to be entitled to all their wages, allowances and perks from June 2008 until they reached full retirement age, apart from damages ranging from RM1 million to RM5 million.

- Bernama