The fissures within ruling party UMNO are beginning to spread to the courts, as one UMNO member, having already gone viral with a video of her railing against her party’s leader, has sued Prime Minister and UMNO president Najib Razak in a bid to reclaim some of what Najib has termed a RM2.6 billion “donation” into his personal bank accounts.
Anina Saaruddin, a member of Wanita UMNO’s Langkawi chapter, filed a suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning, naming Najib and UMNO executive secretary Abdul Rauf Yusof as defendants.
Anina asserted she filed the lawsuit for the benefit and on behalf of UMNO’s three million members.
In an exclusive report, Malaysiakini‘s Hafiz Yatim writes that Anina’s suit was filed by the law firm Messrs Hanif Khatri after no action had been taken on the alleged complaints made against Najib with the party disciplinary board.
Anina’s suit seeks a repayment of USD650 million – the amount reportedly deposited in Najib’s personal bank accounts in 2013, two months before the 13th General Elections.
Also sought are details of all monies in the AmPrivate Banking Account No 2112022009694 allegedly belonging to Najib, along with damages, costs, and other reliefs.
The suit also seeks an injuction against Najib and Abdul Rauf or their agents in the disciplinary board, state liaison body, divisions, and branches to be restrained from removing, suspending, and taking disciplinary action on Anina, pending the disposal of this action.
Anina’s suit also claims that Najib’s receipt of the funds, even if they were donations, was in violation of the Societies Act 1963, which governs the finance and accounting practices of political parties.
