Caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has sought to strike out a suit by former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim that he (Najib) had wrongly changed the words - as listed in the Federal Constitution - when taking his oath of office before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on April 3, 2009.

Najib also sought not to file his statement of defence in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, despite the court having earlier fixed today as the deadline, following his intention to strike out the suit.

This was disclosed by Mat Zain's lawyer Adnan Ismail. Today was fixed for case management before Justice Mohd Zaki Abd Wahab.

Mat Zain in his statement of claim filed last month stated that Najib had wrongly changed the words when taking his oath of office when replacing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and did not correct them.

As Najib failed to correct them, unlike what former US president Barack Obama had don, Mat Zain wants a declaration that Najib's subsequent actions as prime minister and finance minister be declared null and void.

Justice Zaki fixed June 1 to hear Najib's application to strike out the suit.
Lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun appeared for Najib.

Among the reasons cited for the striking out were that Mat Zain does not have the legal standing or locus standi and that only Parliament and the king have the legal standing to initiate the suit.

According to Mat Zain, the oath was cited correctly by Najib in 2013 after BN’s victory in the 13th general election meaning that the wording still existed in the original order as stated in the constitution.

Mat Zain, who was the investigating officer in Anwar Ibrahim's “black eye” assault incident, had produced the transcript of Najib's oath-taking ceremony and said that in 2013, Najib had correctly took his oath of office after the 13th general election.

The 2009 oath, according to Mat Zain, reads:

“Saya Muhammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak setelah dilantik memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri sesungguhnya bersumpah bahawa saya akan menunaikan kewajipan-kewajipan jawatan itu dengan jujur dengan segala daya upaya saya, bahawa saya akan menumpahkan kepercayaan dan taat setia yang sebenar kepada Malaysia, dan akan memelihara dan akan melindungi dan mempertahankan perlembagaan.”

The oath as contained in the sixth schedule of the Federal Constitution reads:

“Saya Muhammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak setelah dilantik memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri sesungguhnya bersumpah bahawa saya dengan jujur akan menunaikan kewajipan-kewajipan jawatan itu dengan segala daya upaya saya, bahawa saya akan menumpahkan taat setia yang sebenar kepada Malaysia, dan akan memelihara dan akan melindungi dan mempertahankan perlembagaan.”

Mat Zain pointed out that the words “dengan jujur” (with honesty) are only said after the words “menunaikan kewajipan-kewajipan jawatan itu” (carry out the obligations of the post) and not before.

He also claims that Najib added the words “kepercayaan dan” (trust and) before “taat setia” (loyalty).

Declaration sought

Mat Zain is seeking several declarations from the court namely:

A declaration that the oath taking event on April 3, 2009, before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin was unconstitutional and hence null and void;

A declaration that the defendant is disqualified or does not have the power to function as prime minister and finance minister since April 3, 2009;

A declaration that all decisions made the defendant in his capacity as prime minister and finance minister are null and void;

A declaration that the defendant cannot exercise his power under the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution with regards to the redelineation report by Election Commission;

A declaration that the gazetted redelineation be declared null and void, as the defendant had no power under Section 4 of the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution; and

A declaration that the defendant had no power as the prime minister to ask permission from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V to dissolve Parliament.