PUTRAJAYA – The Federal Court’s hearing of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s review application of his conviction and sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case began this morning with the defence objecting to one of the judges on the apex court panel.
Lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah raised concerns over judge Datuk Abu Bakar Jais, saying that as a Court of Appeal judge, the latter should not be on the review panel.
Citing Section 74(2) of the Courts of Judicature Act (CJA), Shafee stated that “a senior member of the court” shall preside in the absence of the chief justice.
Similarly, Shafee also argued that even if Abu Bakar decided to recuse himself from the panel, the panel cannot proceed to hear the review, as it has failed to achieve quorum.
“This is because Section 74(1) of the CJA stated that every proceedings in the Federal Court must be heard by no fewer than three judges, and done in odd or uneven numbers as the chief justice may in any particular case determine,” said Shafee.
In a counter-argument, deputy public prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram said that Article 122 of the federal constitution allows for Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat to appoint a Court of Appeal judge to sit as a judge in the Federal Court in the interest of justice.
The bench then asked Shafee to respond to Sithambaram’s point.
The five-person review panel today is being chaired by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, and includes Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, Datuk Nordin Hassan and Abu Bakar.
It is a different panel from the bench headed by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, which upheld Najib’s conviction and sentence in August last year.
This is Najib’s last attempt to undo his conviction, as he has already exhausted his appeal at the Federal Court in August. – The Vibes, January 19, 2023
