[UPDATED] Court allows Najib’s bid to amend application for new evidence against judge Nazlan

PUTRAJAYA – The Federal Court has allowed for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bid to amend his application to adduce new evidence to be heard in his SRC International case, which pertains to then high court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

Najib’s lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik was arguing on the merits of the application including Nazlan’s role as Maybank’s company secretary and group general counsel when 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) had asked for an RM6.17 billion loan from the bank.

After that the court stood down for 10 minutes and submissions continued after the break.

If the court decides against Najib’s application, the hearing of his final appeal will begin after.

Hisyam, in presenting his arguments, warned of the “real danger of bias”, referring to Nazlan’s prior role in Maybank when 1MDB was seeking a loan from the bank in 2012, the Federal Court heard today.

He added that Nazlan’s observation in his judgement in relation to 1MDB’s proposal for the setting up of SRC International must be examined in the context of Maybank’s role.

The loan in question is related to the RM6.17 billion 1MDB needed to acquire Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd. Nazlan held the position of general counsel and company secretary of Maybank Investment Bank Bhd from 2006 to 2015.

Hisyam then argued it can be reasonably inferred that Nazlan would have knowledge about the said proposal at the time of the SRC trial and was expected to have even advised Maybank on the proposal.

Citing precedents set by cases such as Regina vs Park and Ladd v Marshall, he said there were four main conditions that needed to be fulfilled for the admissibility of new evidence.

They are that the evidence to be submitted must not be available at the trial, the evidence must be relevant and credible and there must be reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the appellant.

Hisyam said during the trial, Najib was not supplied with the documents engaging Maybank as 1MDB’s strategic adviser.

He added that Najib was also unaware of Nazlan’s involvement in his role in Maybank in the RM140 million loan to Putra Perdana Development Sdn Bhd and RM4.17 billion loan to 1MDB.

“As such, we have satisfied requirements (to adduce new evidence) under Section 93 of the Courts of Judicature Act.”

In the June filing, Najib said Nazlan had failed to disclose his role in his previous job as Maybank’s company secretary and group general counsel in 2012 when 1MDB had asked for a 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 Muhammad 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 trial began in 2019.

If Najib fails in this application, the hearing of his final appeal will begin soon after.

On July 28, 2020, Nazlan 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. – The Vibes, August 15, 2022