Najib’s last call to SRC resumes today

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PUTRAJAYA (August 23): The nation’s highest court is due to hear submissions from Datuk Seri’s lawyer Seri Najib Tun Razak today to overturn the former prime minister’s conviction and sentence for embezzling RM42 million from funds SRC International Sdn Bhd.

However, if Najib’s newly appointed attorney, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, declines to make submissions, then the five-member bench of the Federal Court headed by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat could render its decision on the spot or postpone it to another date.

Last Friday, Hisyam told the panel that he would not present any argument, even oral, in defense of the former prime minister.

Tengku Maimun, who presided over the appeal with Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court Justices Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd, said the court would deal with the case today.

The prosecution led by ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram, when concluding its submissions on Friday, said the court could deliberate for a decision in the absence of further written or oral submissions from the former prime minister.

The appeals process, which began on Thursday, saw several twists and turns, the first being Hisyam seeking to recuse himself from representing Najib, but his request was rejected by the court which then ordered the prosecution to submit.

The prominent lawyer had also told the panel that Najib had discharged his attorneys, Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners, from representing him.

The lawyer again asked the court to postpone the hearing until next Thursday (August 25) as he had other business on Tuesday and Wednesday, but this was also rejected by the court.

On August 16, the court denied Hisyam’s request to postpone the appeal hearing and ordered the appeal to continue on August 18.

On July 28, 2020, then High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who is now a Court of Appeal Judge, sentenced Najib to 10 years in prison on each of the three charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and each of the three counts of money laundering, and 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million, failing five years in prison, if abused of position.

However, Najib would only have to serve 12 years in prison as the judge ordered that all prison terms be served simultaneously.

Najib is currently released on RM2 million bail in two bail pending appeals.

Last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision and dismissed Najib’s appeal to overturn his conviction and prison sentence as well as the fine.

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