[UPDATED] Other bigger embarrassments: ‘disappointed’ Najib to file immediate appeal to Federal Court

KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has expressed his disappointment over the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold his conviction and sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case. 

In a press conference organised by his defence team this afternoon, Najib said he had asked his lawyers to file an immediate appeal to the Federal Court. 

“First of all, I would like to say that I am very disappointed with the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal this morning and I have asked my lawyers to file an immediate appeal to the Federal Court,” the Pekan MP said. 

He stressed that he did not instruct anyone for the RM42 million funds to be transferred into his personal bank account.

“The central issue in respect to the SRC International case revolves around the RM42 million transferred into my personal account.

“I would like to reiterate that I didn’t know, nor did I ask for it, nor did I direct anyone for the RM42 million to be transferred into my account.

“As a Muslim, I have sworn in the name of Allah that I didn’t know nor did I ask for it, nor did I direct anyone for the amount to be transferred to my personal account,” the former Umno president said. 

Earlier, the Court of Appeal found that the high court was correct to find former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak guilty for all charges involving corruption over SRC International funds. 

Delivering a unanimous judgment, Court of Appeal judge Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil said there were no errors in the findings by high court judge Nazlan Ghazali, given that the prosecution has proven elements of the offences beyond a reasonable doubt.

Among the significant rulings made by the Court of Appeal include that the trial judge had correctly found that Najib had been the shadow director of SRC International.

Karim pointed out that Najib’s actions on the RM4 billion loan to SRC International were not for national interest, but for personal benefit.

He said that it resulted in no national interest, but rather a national embarrassment.

However, Najib disagreed with the judge’s remark, saying there were other incidents and scandalous issues that resulted in a much more colossal national embarrassment. 

“Throughout my career, I’ve always been focused on how to promote national interest. As you know, during my tenure as the prime minister, just as an example, the total assets of the country grew from RM800 million to RM2 trillion under my watch.

“There are other incidents or scandalous issues, for example, the scandal surrounding the foreign exchange (forex), which led to a loss of about RM31 billion. If you put it in that context, isn’t that a much more colossal national embarrassment?

“During my tenure, the government set up a RCI (royal commission of inquiry) to investigate the whole episode of the forex RM31 billion loss. 

“Subsequently, the Pakatan Harapan government made a decision not to proceed and to classify it as ‘no further action’,” he said, referring to Bank Negara Malaysia’s foreign exchange losses of an estimated RM31 billion in the early 1990s. 

For the record, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003.

Meanwhile, Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah – who was also present at the virtual press conference – said Karim’s choice of words (national embarrassment) was unnecessary and could have an effect on his client’s reputation.

“I’m quite disappointed with a remark made by the court that it’s not a national interest, but only national embarrassment. In the course of the appeal, assuming the court sees our point of view, the remark of ‘national embarrassment’ can be expunged because it was unnecessary,” Shafee said.

“As lawyers and litigants, we have to accept whatever the court decides, and we accept respectfully. But there is nothing in the law that says we cannot criticise it, so I’m going to criticise it without transgressing the law.

“The Court of Appeal made a finding that Najib had micromanaged SRC International. Who gave this evidence? There was no such evidence given.

“He was prime minister and finance minister at that point, he had 85 companies under his wing,” the senior lawyer added.

Shafee said his team is confident that the Federal Court will allow an appeal to overturn the high court’s decision that was upheld in the Court of Appeal today.

“I am extremely confident now, there’s not a shred of doubt. My confidence has not been reduced from this judgement.

“I am troubled by the concurrent decision and I am not fazed by this. This is a case that poses difficulty in interpreting the law.

“If there is doubt in the case, the decision must be in favour of the accused. If there is doubt of the position of law being interpreted, it should be in favour of the accused. I hope the Federal Court would find it in its heart to hold this position.” – The Vibes, December 8, 2021