[UPDATED] Najib’s final bid against RM42 mil SRC conviction kicks off today

PUTRAJAYA – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was seen walking up the steps of the Palace of Justice here at about 9.10am, ahead of the final appeal of his conviction in the RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case.

Dressed in a dark suit and navy blue tie, Najib was flanked by a group of 20-odd people such as his lawyers, bodyguards and aides, while making his way to the courtroom.

The five-member panel, led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, entered the courtroom at 9.47am.

The other judges are Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court’s Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan, and Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.

However, prior to the hearing of the SRC final appeal, the apex court is expected to hear Najib’s recent bid for a retrial, accusing then high court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Ghazali of having conflict of interest.

Najib in June applied to adduce fresh evidence pertaining to Nazlan, saying in the filing that the judge 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 a RM6.17 billion loan from the bank to help finance 1MDB’s acquisition of Tanjong Energy.

Nazlan’s previous roles had been in the public domain even before the start of the trial in 2019.

His new defence team, now led by lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, arrived here around 8.45am while lawyer Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, whose firm was appointed at the last minute to be sitting with the defence team, was seen on the premises at about 8.30am. 

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

Meanwhile, media personnel were already waiting in the building lobby as early as 8am to catch a glimpse of Najib’s arrival.

On July 28, 2020, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined 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.

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 a few months later.

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