PUTRAJAYA – Court of Appeal justice Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil has advised Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to use courteous words when criticising high court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who convicted the lawyer’s client, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, over the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
Karim, who leads a three-member bench, told Shafee that he can use phrases like “erred in law” and “misdirected himself” to show weaknesses in Nazlan’s judgment.
“I think that if we can use a better word with due respect to the learned judge... find a better adjective to describe him. Other than you saying ‘poisoned his judgment’, or ‘hopelessly incompetent’, could you find another phrase? Accord respect to the judge.
“Use phrases like ‘grossly erred’, he had ‘erred and flawed’, he ‘misdirected himself’. Don’t just say he is ‘hopelessly incompetent’,” said Karim, who presided over the appeal with justices Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
Shafee: Can I just say, the learned judge demonstrated incompetence.
Karim: Yes.
Shafee: Clearly, he demonstrated incompetence. That, I can say. (Otherwise,) I can’t pull any punches, as Yang Arif can appreciate. If these things happened, I have to say them.
Karim: Just say it (respectfully).
Shafee: With a bit more decorum. Alright.
At the outset, Shafee, in his submissions at the hearing of Najib’s appeal against his conviction and jail sentence for the misappropriation of the RM42 million, said the trial judge was incompetent when making the ruling.
“Can we say, with the greatest of respect, that the learned judge was hopelessly incompetent in this case. That is the only explanation I can give as to how a blunder of this sort could happen. That goes to the root as to whether we have gotten a fair trial in this case.
“Now, I want to add one more ground. By incorporating what was not supposed to be there in the grounds of judgment and in the record of proceedings, as in the finding of prima facie has elements previously not there, as though it had always been there, has the judge poisoned his ground of judgment?
“Had the poisoning occurred, Yang Arif (this court) will have to relook the grounds. That is another question I would like to pose.”
The Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 28 last year sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and imposed a RM210 million fine after finding him guilty on seven counts of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power involving the SRC International monies.
Nazlan sentenced the former prime minister to 10 years’ jail on each of the three counts of CBT and each of the three counts of money laundering, and 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine, in default of five years’ jail, for the power abuse charge.
The appeal hearing continues. – Bernama, April 6, 2021
