[UPDATED] Justice was compromised, argues Najib’s lawyer over Nazlan’s Maybank role

PUTRAJAYA – The defence counsel representing Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption appeal today argued that “justice was compromised” as there was a real danger of bias by high court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali over his previous role in Maybank.

In his submission to the court this morning, Najib’s lawyer, Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik refuted that their application was made in “bad faith” or “scandalous” in nature as they had established Nazlan’s purported conflict of interest. 

Hisyam posited that Nazlan was “privy” to many aspects of the evidence which are contested issues in the trial due to the latter’s supposed involvement in Maybank’s RM140 million loan to Putra Perdana Development Sdn Bhd and RM4.17 billion loan to 1MDB.

“So looking at the angle, we (the defence) cannot say that this is a scandalous application or (one) made in bad faith. 

“These are serious points that the court needs to grapple with,” he said.

Hisyam then reiterated that during the trial, the former prime minister was not supplied with the documents stating Maybank as 1MDB’s strategic adviser, and was unaware of Nazlan’s involvement in his role in the bank’s RM140 million loan to Putra Perdana Development and RM4.17 billion loan to 1MDB.

Nazlan was the general counsel and company secretary for the Maybank Group from 2006 to 2015.

In their application, the defence argued that Nazlan, in his official capacity at Maybank, had the overall responsibility for the management and administration of all legal departments within the entire group but wilfully failed to disclose his role, involvement, or knowledge in the setting up of SRC International.

The defence further argued for new evidence to show that Maybank Investment Bank Bhd was responsible for proposing the establishment of SRC, while its strategic advisory division, BinaFikir Sdn Bhd, was tasked with the research and advisory side of things.

At the start of today’s proceedings, ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram again poked holes in Najib’s application, saying it was “irrelevant” and that the defence had failed to establish that there was a danger of bias.

“In this case, we (the prosecution) are saying it is scandalous, irrelevant of facts because there is no connection between the charges and the allegations made against the learned judge,” he said.

The five-member panel led by chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat then asked the court to stand down for deliberations on Najib’s application.

Other panel members are 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 hearing is expected to resume after the break.

In a June filing, Najib had said Nazlan had failed to disclose his role in his previous job as Maybank’s company secretary and group general counsel in 2012.

Najib’s lead defence counsel at the time, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, had 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 did not amount to a conflict of interest, as well as having been in the public domain even before the trial began in 2019.

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.

Last December 8, the Court of Appeal upheld Najib’s conviction.

Once the hearing for his final appeal has concluded on August 26, the apex court is expected to make a decision a few months later.

If Najib’s conviction is upheld by the Federal Court, he will immediately have to serve his sentence. He would also have exhausted all legal means to appeal in this case.

The only recourse open to the former prime minister would then be to apply for a royal pardon after he has begun serving his sentence – The Vibes, August 16, 2022