PUTRAJAYA – The power abuse charge against Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case is wrong and illegal, the Court of Appeal heard today.
The former prime minister’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said this is because Najib had no personal or pecuniary interest when he chaired cabinet meetings that discussed government guarantees for SRC International to obtain a loan from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP).
“Najib, as prime minister, was chairman of the cabinet, which was the government of the day. Trial judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali was 100% wrong to conclude that he (Najib) was using his position for gratification.
“My Lord, as the then prime minister, Najib was the ‘first among equals’ in the cabinet. At the end of the day, the cabinet made a collective decision.
“It was not a decision by an individual (Najib), the prime minister, finance minister, or representative of Ministry of Finance Inc.”
It has become a total distraction, he said, because Najib is said to have participated in cabinet meetings in 2011 and 2012 to obtain for himself RM42 million from the RM4 billion channelled through KWAP to SRC International.
“We contend that there is no nexus between the decision taken to approve the government guarantee and the gratification that was intended,” he said, adding that Najib was seriously prejudiced and disadvantaged.
Shafee submitted this before a three-member bench led by judge Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil in the hearing of the former prime minister’s appeal against his conviction and jail sentence for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.
The other two judges on the bench were Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 28 last year sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine after finding him guilty on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and power abuse involving the RM42 million.
The hearing of the appeal continues tomorrow. – Bernama, April 27, 2021
