[UPDATED] No discharge: Hisyam must go on in Najib’s SRC hearing, rules apex court

PUTRAJAYA – The Federal Court has decided against allowing Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s new lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik to discharge himself from the final SRC International Sdn Bhd appeal hearing scheduled to proceed today.

Reading the broad judgments, chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said Hisyam had failed to produce reasonable grounds to discharge himself from the case.

“The court is within its discretionary authority to deny the application to discharge,” she said.

The final appeal hearing has now begun proper.

Earlier today, there was a terse exchange between Tengku Maimun and Hisyam before the apex bench stood down to decide on the lawyer’s bid for an adjournment, or else to discharge himself, on grounds that the new defence team lacked time to prepare for the appeal hearing. 

However, Tengku Maimun denied the adjournment and referred Hisyam to the apex court’s judgement on the matter last Tuesday, in which she had said Najib’s lawyers were well aware of the trial dates before taking on the case.

On Tuesday, Hisyam had pleaded to the court for adjournment of “three to four” months but this application was also unanimously rejected.

Prior to the start of the final appeal hearing, Najib had changed lawyers, replacing Tan Sri Mohd Shafee Abdullah and his law firm Shafee & Co with Hisyam of Messrs Hisyam Teh, and Datuk Zaid Ibrahim of Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew and Partners, effective July 25.

Liew Teik Huat and Rueben Mathiaravanam (of Messrs Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners) are the new co-counsels.

Due to the eleventh-hour 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 said during case management that he would discharge the defence team, leaving Najib to possibly lose his legal representation, if the court does not allow for further postponement.

However, on August 12, Zaid refuted that Hisyam would discharge the defence team if an adjournment was not granted and reaffirmed that they would not abandon Najib in this case.

Today’s five-member panel was led by chief justice Tengku Maimun and comprises the chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and the Federal Court’s Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan, and Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah. – The Vibes, August 18, 2022