KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s fate over the misappropriation of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-linked SRC International Sdn Bhd funds will be decided tomorrow.
One of the most-watched criminal trials in Malaysia – or even the world – his appeal will be heard by a three-person bench comprising Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, Datuk Has Zanah Mehat, and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
All eyes will be on these three justices, who have experience in the legal field and government. This would not be the first time for them to decide upon cases of national interest.
Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil
Karim graduated from Universiti Malaya with a law degree.
He held numerous positions in the legal field, beginning his public service career in 1983 as a deputy public prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
Karim was then assigned to various senior positions – including as Inland Revenue Department of Malaysia (now known as the Inland Revenue Board) senior federal counsel; AGC deputy public prosecutor in Penang and Perlis; and sessions court judge in Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur (KL), and Melaka.
He was also AGC’s prosecution division criminal appeals unit head, Securities Commission enforcement director, and Anti-Corruption Agency enforcement and legal division director.
In 2014, Karim was appointed as a high court judge, before being elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2016.
In addition to his legal posts, Karim was the Insolvency Department director-general and Companies Commission of Malaysia chief executive officer from 2005 to 2009.
Among the many cases he has presided over, Karim – along with colleagues Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Supang Lian – gave judgement over the dissolution of the Sabah assembly that prompted a snap election.
When the dissolution was challenged by former chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman and the matter reached the Court of Appeal, the three-member bench said the dissolution could not be challenged via judicial review.
In other words, the Court of Appeal ruled that the judiciary is not in the position to interfere in affairs of the state assembly, especially its dissolution.
Last year, Karim had the opportunity to decide on a matter concerning public security, specifically over the ban of three books.
Along with Abu Bakar and Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin, Karim quashed the Home Ministry’s ban of three books published by the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF).
The three books titled “Islam Tanpa Keekstreman: Berhujah Untuk Kebebasan”, a translation of Turkish academic Mustafa Akyol’s “Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty”, was banned by the Home Ministry pursuant to powers under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
When the case reached the Court of Appeal, it was decided that Putrajaya had breached rules of natural justice for failing to give IRF its right to be heard before issuing orders, in addition to failing to produce the relevant documents that influenced the ban.
While Karim is set to preside over a 1MDB-related case tomorrow, it would not be his first time.
On September 2 this year, Karim – together with Abu Bakar and Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail – dismissed the prosecution’s appeal to forfeit RM192 million from central Umno, RM300,000 (Wanita MCA), and RM1.05 million (Kedah Umno) that allegedly received money from Najib in relation to 1MDB.
The Court of Appeal decided the high court was correct in dismissing the prosecution’s application for forfeiture, and that there are no reasons to interfere in the matter.
Among others, it was decided that the forfeiture action on the political parties did not satisfy requirements under Section 56 of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 with regard to forfeiture of property when there is no prosecution.
Datuk Has Zanah Mehat
Just like her colleague Karim, Has Zanah is also a law graduate from Universiti Malaya.
She served as legal adviser for the Education Ministry from 1990 to 1994, and as deputy treasury solicitor for the Finance Ministry.
In 2011, Has Zanah began serving as a high court judge, before her appointment to the Court of Appeal in 2018.
In January this year, she presided over a landmark appeal that saw the quashing of a development order issued by KL City Hall (DBKL) in Taman Rimba Kiara.
Together with Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Datuk S. Nantha Balan, the Court of Appeal decided that the development order is null and void, given the DBKL mayor’s supposed conflict of interest over his position on Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan’s board of trustees.
Additionally, the Court of Appeal ruled to widen the scope of locus standi, allowing residents to intervene as long as they could show that they had been adversely affected by a public body’s decision.
On September 21, Has Zanah led a three-member panel with Datuk Indera Mohd Sofian Abd Razak and Datuk Lee Heng Cheong over an appeal that challenged Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s royal pardon, which he received in 2018 following the 14th general election.
In this case, the Court of Appeal struck out the lawsuit, ruling that the judiciary could not interfere in matters concerning the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy.
However, this was not the only case involving the opposition leader that Has Zanah had presided over this year.
On November 24, she led a three-person bench to decide on the validity of then prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s emergency proclamation, which was challenged by Anwar.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the emergency proclamation is not subject to judicial review, given an ouster clause in Article 150(8) of the federal constitution that states it could not be challenged by the courts.
Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera
Unlike Has Zanah and Karim, Vazeer Alam obtained his law degree from Aberystwyth University, Wales.
In addition, he received a Master of Comparative Laws from International Islamic University Malaysia and a Bachelor of Arts from the National University of Singapore.
He served as Kedah and Perlis Bar Committee chairman, and was appointed a high court judge in 2015, before being elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2019.
During his tenure at the high court, Vazeer Alam had presided over several high-profile cases.
One such case concerned a discovery application from the family of Altantuya Shaariibuu, who filed a RM100 million lawsuit over her death.
While hearing the civil trial, Vazeer Alam disallowed recorded statements from a criminal trial to be used in a civil case, given that they are considered privileged documents.
However, when the appeal reached the Court of Appeal on September 24, Altantuya’s family was allowed to obtain copies of police statements recorded from individuals during the course of the murder investigation for use in the civil suit.
During the appeal, Nor Bee, Supang, and Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya unanimously decided that there is no danger of witness tampering – given that the criminal trial had long ended.
In 2013, Vazeer Alam ordered Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris (better known as blogger Papagomo) to pay RM500,000 in damages to businessman Abdul Razak Mohd Noor over defamatory statements.
Papagomo had allegedly accused Razak of earning millions when obtaining a contract for the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
Wan Muhammad Azri has since denied being Papagomo. The Court of Appeal then upheld Vazeer Alam’s decision – but reduced the damages from RM500,000 to RM300,000.
On September 9 this year, Najib and his son Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin challenged high court decisions that required them to fork out RM1.69 billion and RM37.64 million respectively.
Vazeer Alam – along with Karim and Supang – dismissed their appeals, saying there was no error in judgement of the high court decisions.
However, the Court of Appeal allowed a request for an interim stay of the ruling, pending an appeal to the Federal Court.
On July 28 last year, Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and fined RM210 million at KL High Court after he was found guilty of corruption concerning SRC International funds.
The Pekan MP was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering, and one count of abuse of power.
While delivering the judgement, Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. – The Vibes, December 7, 2021
