KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak insists he was not given a fair trial in his appeal against his SRC International conviction despite his earlier move to discharge his own legal team.
In a 20-page statement to the Federal Court this afternoon, Najib told chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat that he had never sought to delay the appeal, except following the changes in his lawyers.
However, Najib said he took responsibility for the decisions regarding his legal representation, despite genuinely believing they were sound moves at the time based on advice given to him by solicitors and external counsels.
“Now it seems to be adversely interpreted against me by this honourable court if an appellant similarly placed in my position cannot rely on his lawyers’ advice and (is instead) punished, (the idea of a) fair trial and the rule of law seems illusory to me,” Najib said.
“Yet, at no point have I been afforded the opportunity to explain myself nor have I been asked about the circumstances that led us here.
“It is said that the accused is the most important person in the criminal court, yet I somehow feel mistreated and I feel (a) fair trial has not been accorded to me.”
Najib also compared his case with the trials faced by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, which took seven years with over 70 adjournments.
“In fact, comparing my case to that of the last high-profile case of Anwar Ibrahim, it can be said that my appeal has taken a fast track to reach here,” the former prime minister said.
He added that, in contrast, the SRC International case has only taken four years, two years of which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and at least seven other criminal and civil proceedings against him.
Najib said his previous lawyers from Shafee & Co had “done well” over the past four years in representing him at the high court and appellate court by “leaving no stones unturned”, which was why they remained his lawyers in other trials that he is facing.
After losing his SRC International case at both the trial and initial appeal stages, Najib said he had sought a new perspective on the case by engaging the Queen’s Counsel (QC) Jonathan Laidlaw to work alongside Shafee & Co.
He said Laidlaw was highly recommended, being an expert in the field of criminal law, especially in relation to fraud, corruption, abuse of powers and other corporate and white collar crime.
Najib said he had even paid fees to Laidlaw, who was prepared to attend his Federal Court appeal hearing on August 15.
The Pekan MP also claimed the discovery of evidence against appellate court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who upheld his conviction last year, necessitated a new counsel to come on board.
However, Najib pointed out that the high court had rejected Laidlaw’s bid to become his lawyer on July 21 this year.
“I was discouraged as this literally stopped the QC’s preparation as the weeks of the appeal that he had reserved for the appeal would become wasted, and he had to resort to adjusting his busy calendar.
Najib also said lawyer Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim and his Singaporean partner Niru Pillai later came into the picture and suggested bringing in legal expertise from India.
The ex-PM also said Zaid and Niru had introduced him to two senior counsels from India who impressed him with their ideas and ultimately suggested they do the back-end work, while Zaid’s firm facilitated the court process.
Najib said Zaid and the team had also asked that their firm be placed as solicitors on record and to bring in another local counsel to come onboard.
“I was advised by Datuk Zaid and Mr Niru Pillai that this was the only way they would be afforded time to prepare for the appeal as by practice and precedent the court will (and this was represented to me in absolute terms) grant time for a new team to prepare. Acting on their legal advice, I agreed to this course of action,” he said.
“I have also never sought an adjournment in this appeal apart from the ones following my change of solicitors and counsel.
“My intention was not to simply delay the court process but rather because of QC Jonathan Laidlaw’s application not looking good based on the unreasonable and strong objections raised by the prosecution and the Bar Council, and ultimately the application being rejected less than a month before the scheduled dates at the gearing of the appeal.”
Earlier, the Federal Court upheld the decision that Najib is guilty of all seven charges in the SRC International corruption case and will have to serve his 12-year sentence.
The apex court also upheld the conviction for the former prime minister to pay the RM210 million fine imposed by the high court.
A five-member bench chaired by Tengku Maimun said the findings of the high court are correct and the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt. – The Vibes, August 23, 2022
Additional reporting by Hakim Mahari
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