What you need to know: Najib’s SRC International final appeal

KUALA LUMPUR – The Federal Court is set to hear former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s final appeal in his RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case starting today until August 26. 

The case, which began at the high court on April 3, 2019, has captured the attention of Malaysians and outside observers alike for its courtroom drama as well as bombshell revelations into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal and is expected to reach a conclusion after the case is disposed of by the apex court.

So how did we get here?

To recap, Najib is standing trial for three counts of criminal breach of trust over SRC International funds during his tenure as prime minister and finance minister, a separate charge of abusing the same positions for self-gratification and another three charges of money laundering.

On July 28, 2020, high court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Ghazali sentenced Najib to 12 years in jail and fined him RM210 million after he was found guilty of misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International. 

Following this on December 8, 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence decided by the high court.

While the proceedings at the high court and Court of Appeal have seen a series of postponements, none of them can compare to the numerous applications filed by Najib at the eleventh hour.

This includes Najib filing an application in May to have UK lawyer and Queen’s Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw represent him in the final appeal.

However, on July 21, high court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid ruled that Laidlaw did not satisfy the requirements for ad hoc admission under the Legal Profession Act.

Kamal also said that local advocates and solicitors were more than capable of handling such cases.

Another application done by Najib was to adduce fresh evidence pertaining to high court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Ghazali, back in June.

In the filing, Najib said Nazlan had failed to disclose his role in his previous job in 2012 as Maybank’s company secretary and group general counsel when 1MDB had asked for an RM6.17 billion loan from the bank to help finance 1MDB’s acquisition of Tanjong Energy.

Najib’s lead defence counsel at the time, Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah, said there was enough merit for them to seek a retrial as Nazlan could be called as an important witness in the 1MDB proceedings.

However, the prosecution had argued that Najib’s application was a desperate attempt to nullify the trial and Nazlan’s previous role had no conflict of interest and had been in the public domain even before the start of the trial in 2019.

The apex court is set to hear this application today. If Najib fails in this application, then the hearing of his final appeal will begin soon after.

However, the most dramatic turn of events was the change of defence counsel two weeks out from Najib’s final appeal hearing.

Shafee and his law firm Shafee & Co, which have been representing Najib in the case, were replaced by Hisyam Teh Poh Teik (of Messrs Hisyam Teh) and Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew and Partners, effective July 25.

Liew Teik Huat and Rueben Mathiaravanam (of Messrs Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners) were also reported to be co-counsels. 

Due to the timing of the appointment, Hisyam had applied to the Federal Court for a postponement as his new team needed more time to prepare. This, however, was rejected by the court.

On August 10, Hisyam stated during case management that he would discharge the defence team, leaving Najib possibly losing legal representation, if the court does not allow for further postponement.

So what happens next?

Najib currently has been granted a stay of execution from his jail sentence and fine, which means he is out on bail and free to carry out his day-to-day routine and political activities.

Once the hearing for his final appeal has concluded on August 26, the apex court is expected to make a decision soon after.

If Najib’s conviction is upheld by the Federal Court, he will immediately have to serve his sentence.

Najib would also have exhausted all legal means to appeal in this case.

The only recourse open to the former prime minister is to apply for a royal pardon after he begins to serve his sentence.

Similarly, the prosecution for this case would also exhaust all legal recourse if Najib’s sentence was reversed.

However, Najib is still facing two ongoing trials at the high court, one involving the misappropriation of more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds and his alleged abuse of power in relation to the tampering of the auditor-general’s report on the sovereign wealth fund.

Najib is also facing another two other trials which have yet to start.

One involves Najib’s six criminal breach of trust charges amounting to RM6.6 billion along with former treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.

Another is the second SRC trial encompassing three money laundering charges involving RM27 million. – The Vibes, August 15, 2022