The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya today unanimously dismissed an appeal brought by incumbent Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua against caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak for misfeasance in public office with regards to the 1MDB scandal.

The three-judge panel headed by Justice Ahmadi Asnawi ruled that Pua should pay both respondents, Najib and the government, RM5,000 each in costs.

"There is no appealable error that warrants our appellate intervention," ruled Ahmadi.

The appellate court concurred with the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision to strike out the case.

In October 2017, High Court judicial commissioner Faizah Jamaludin ruled that Najib is not a public officer, even though he holds the office of both prime minister and finance minister.

Pua had filed the suit against Najib in January last year. He was seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages to be assessed by the court.

In his statement of claim, Pua had said Najib is a public officer since he is the Pekan MP, the prime minister and chairperson of the 1MDB board of advisors, and that in those capacities, had a direct role in 1MDB to approve appointments and removals in the company.

Previously, Najib's lawyer had argued that his client is not a public officer.

Pua is represented by Michelle Ng and Gobind Singh Deo while Najib is represented by Cecil Abraham. Senior federal counsel Alice Loke acted on behalf of the government.

The two other judges on the bench were Justice Kamardin Hashim and Justice Yeoh Wee Siam.

In her submission, Ng stressed that the local circumstances required that the legal definition of public officer should include the prime minister, whom was voted into Parliament. 

Meanwhile, Cecil argued that Najib was not a director of 1MDB and the appellant must first prove the prime minister has violated the law to hold him accountable.

There was absolutely no evidence the respondent is responsible for the losses in 1MDB, he said.