KUALA LUMPUR – Umno wants the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to explain the status of investigations into judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who found Datuk Seri Najib Razak guilty of corruption.
Party secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the MACC must state whether there is a case against Nazlan, while the AGC should state if further action will be taken on investigation papers which have been submitted.
This follows developments in Najib’s final appeal in the Federal Court on his SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption conviction, where the apex court refused his application to adduce new evidence pertaining to alleged conflict of interest involving Nazlan.
“MACC must either confirm or deny the existence of the investigation papers which have been leaked and shared in public.
“The AGC must also announce whether any further action has been taken with regards to the investigation papers.
“The integrity of the institutions that we respect must be protected and Umno has high hopes that the MACC and AGC can explain the issue to the rakyat in the near future,” Ahmad said in a statement this evening.
Ahmad noted that MACC had issued an official statement dated May 21 to confirm that investigations against Nazlan had been concluded, and the papers sent to the AGC for further action on May 18.
The Pontian MP said a document, purportedly an investigation paper on the matter that states an offence had been committed under Section 220 of the Penal Code, had since been leaked and gone viral.
Section 220 refers to the “commitment for trial or confinement by a person having authority who knows that he is acting contrary to law.”
On July 28, 2020, Nazlan, then a high court judge, sentenced Najib to 12 years in jail and fined him RM210 million after the former prime minister was found guilty of misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International.
Last December 8, the Court of Appeal upheld Najib’s conviction.
In a June filing, Najib said Nazlan, now a Court of Appeal judge, 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, said there was enough merit for them to seek a retrial as Nazlan could be 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 had no conflict of interest and had been in the public domain even before the trial began in 2019.
The MACC in April confirmed that a probe was being conducted into Nazlan after reports were lodged over allegations of unexplained money in his account.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said an investigation paper was opened after the commission received several reports on the allegations.
Nazlan had lodged a police report and the Palace of Justice chief registrar has since claimed that the accusation is baseless and false, adding that it was aimed to undermine the judge’s professional reputation and that of the judiciary system.
Najib is currently appealing his conviction and sentence in the Federal Court, where the hearing is scheduled to end on August 26.
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 is to apply for a royal pardon after he has begun serving his sentence. – The Vibes, August 18, 2022
