PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission (EC) will leave it to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to decide how best to handle PKR’s election offence suit against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, said its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof.

“As usual the AGC will represent the EC,” Aziz said in a text-message reply.

The Malaysian Insider said it understands that the EC legal department which received the writ on Wednesday has referred the matter to the AGC’s civil division.

Lawyer Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, who is appearing for the prime minister, said an application to strike out the suit might be an option.

Hafarizam said this was on the grounds that the action by the plaintiffs was frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of court process.

The High Court has set Sept 3 for case management.

Last week, PKR filed the suit against Najib for violating election laws following The Wall Street Journal’s report of US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) found in the prime minister’s personal accounts.

On Aug 3, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in an unsigned statement said the cash was merely a donation.

The plaintiffs in the suit are de facto PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is in prison for a sodomy conviction, Lembah Pantai member of parliament (MP) Nurul Izzah Anwar, Batu MP Tian Chua, former secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Gerakan Harapan Baru member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Apart from Najib and the EC, others named as defendants are Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in digitaledge Daily, on August 21, 2015.