After filing a class action suit in the US, former PAS vice-president Husam Musa said he is not worried about getting arrested for his actions.

Husam said there was nothing for him to fear, as he was merely seeking the return of money stolen from Malaysia on the behalf of Malaysians.

“I don’t think anyone will arrest me, because I am acting on behalf of the country and surely the prime minister (Najib Abdul Razak) will support me.

“Surely the prime minister won’t arrest someone who is merely trying to return stolen property. No way,” he told reporters when asked at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

He was referring to the class action suit that he and lawyer Matthias Chang filed, seeking damages from eight defendants for supposedly knowingly used funds stolen from 1MDB.

Husam, the assemblyperson for the state seat of Salor in Kelantan, said fear is natural and God-given, but it has to be managed or the country would fall into ruins.

He said Malaysians needed to continue the struggle if there were any untoward incidents against him or against Chang.

Chang was previously arrested and charged together with his client Khairuddin Abu Hassan, for allegedly perpetrating economic sabotage by lodging reports over the 1MDB issue with authorities abroad.

Chang - a former aide of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad - was acting as Khairuddin’s counsel at the time.

Meanwhile, Chang told the press conference that the class action suit filed on Aug 11 is different from the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) civil forfeiture suits.

Whereas the DOJ seeks to recover properties allegedly bought with funds misappropriated from 1MDB, the class action suit seeks to claim damages for the alleged wrongdoing.

In addition, the civil forfeiture suits are in rem proceedings that name the properties as plaintiffs, whereas the class action suit are in personam proceedings that name the actual owners of properties as defendants.

Among the eight defendants in the class action suit are the film production and distribution company Red Granite Pictures, and its co-founders Christopher Joey McFarland and Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz. Riza is the stepson of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Also named as defendants are the Penang-born tycoon Low Taek Jho, and his tax attorney Debra Whelan Johnson and her firm Metropolis IX Capital Advisors LLC.

Goldman Sachs Group and its former banker Timothy Leissner were also named.

Hold damages in trust for M'sians

Asked why the person codenamed 'Malaysian Official 1' in the DOJ's court filings was not named in the class action suit, Husam clarified that 'Malaysian Official 1' was in fact mentioned in the suit but not as a defendant.

This is because there is no evidence that 'Malaysian Official 1' held assets in the US that were bought using money stolen from 1MDB, he said.

To another question on what would happen to the damages awarded if the court rules in his favour, Husam said it would be held in trust on behalf of Malaysians.

He said he is open to suggestions on how it should be disbursed.

“We just take action to restore and recover the assets. Later on when we succeed, we are open to any suggestions,” Husam said.

He suggested that perhaps the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the head of state could nominate someone to act as a member of the trust.

Husam added that he intends to write a letter to notify the Agong of the court action he has taken.

Asked about the cost of the lawsuit, Chang said the lawyers in the US had volunteered their services, but he hoped members of the public would help with other expenses such as travel expenses through donations.

He added that under US law, the costs of class action suits decided in the plaintiff’s favour are not determined by the lawyers themselves, but assessed by the court instead.