KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s defence team will be filing an application to the Federal Court to adduce new evidence in the former prime minister’s appeal pertaining to the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
In an online press conference yesterday, Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah alleged that there is more evidence related to the case which has been “suppressed” from his team.
“We have received information that there might be more evidence which was suppressed (from the defence team), and was not made known to us by any parties – be it the prosecution, MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) or police.
“We have found out about this and we will put in another application to the Federal Court, which is the appeal to adduce new evidence,” the senior lawyer said.
However, when asked about the fresh evidence, Shafee refused to divulge further details, saying “we cannot reveal because we will have to confirm it first, or else it would seem like it’s just idle talk”.
“When we want to look for documents in a situation where authorities are actively trying to hide them from us, it would be hard for us to find them. But God willing, we will get them.
“We will hopefully be able to gather the documents and file the new application within the next two months.”
In addition, he claimed that the defence team had lost its edge by having to go through an “unfair” hybrid hearing in the appeal of the SRC International case.
He said during the hybrid hearing to hear Najib’s application to adduce new evidence in the case last week, his team was put at a disadvantage as they were not present at court after Shafee was classified as a Covid-19 close contact.
“I oppose hybrid hearing. The prosecution team had the advantage of appearing physically before the judges – full advantage of audio and visual.
“They could hear the judges so clearly, compared to us. We were on Zoom. I couldn’t hear the judges when making my submission.
“At times, it would be silent and the image on the screen would be blurry. But we made do with whatever that we could hear,” he said.
Therefore, he said he will raise this issue in the Federal Court as part of the defence’s argument in the appeal.
“I find it troubling that the Bar Council has not come up to interpret this and educate the members of the profession.
“It is ridiculous because this is a serious matter that pertains to the livelihoods of the members of the Bar.
“I want to invite the Bar Council to look into this and make a determination,” he said.
On December 7, the prosecution team made submissions before the Court of Appeal while Shafee presented his case remotely, from his home.
This was after the entire defence team and Najib had been classified as close and casual contact with a Covid-19 positive individual.
On December 8, the Court of Appeal found that the high court was correct to find Najib guilty of all charges involving corruption over SRC International funds.
Delivering a unanimous judgement, 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 ruled that the bench also upholds the high court judge’s conviction, RM210 million fine, and 12-year jail term on Najib. – The Vibes, December 17, 2021
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