No more way out for Najib as apex court refuses SRC review
Published on: Friday, March 31, 2023
By:
FMT, Ho Kit Yen
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak began his 12-year prison term in August last year after the Federal Court dismissed his final appeal.
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has in a majority decision rejected Najib Razak’s bid to review his conviction and sentence in the SRC International case.
Justices Vernon Ong, Rhodzariah Bujang, Nordin Hassan and Abu Bakar Jais dismissed the former prime minister motion.
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Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Rahman Sebli, who chaired the panel hearing the application, was the sole dissenting judge.
Delivering the majority verdict, Ong said that the previous Federal Court panel had considered all the 94 grounds and the submissions filed in the lower courts before dismissing Najib’s appeal from his conviction for abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges.
He said the review application ought to have addressed whether the application fulfilled the legal requirements to warrant a rehearing of the appeal. Instead, the submissions “touched on the merits of the SRC International case” itself.
Ong said that during the hearing held between Aug 15 to 23 last year, the appeal panel had given Najib’s then counsel, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, the opportunity to submit on any 94 grounds. Hisyam, however, told the court he did not intend to do so.
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“Based on the notes of proceedings, opportunity was given, but (Hisyam) said was relying on submissions from the lower courts.
“We do not think that he (Najib) was denied a fair trial. There was no miscarriage of justice,” Ong said.
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As regards the bid to review Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s refusal to recuse herself from hearing the appeal, Ong said that Najib had failed to show how her participation would give rise to a real danger of bias.
Najib wanted to recuse Tengku Maimun last year on grounds that her husband, Zamani Ibrahim, had expressed “negative sentiments” towards his leadership in a Facebook post following the 14th general election.
Ong said the remaining four judges on the appeal panel – Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Chief Judge of Malaya Zabidin Mohamad Diah, and Justices Nallini Pathmanathan and Mary Lim – were all in agreement that the Chief Justice need not recuse herself.
Likewise, Ong said Najib also failed to show how this evidence relating to Nazlan’s previous employment with Maybank was relevant to the seven charges.
“The arguments by the applicant (Najib) are untenable, thus there is no merit for a review of that decision,” he added.
As a result of the decision, the former prime minister will serve out the remainder of his 12-year prison term, unless he secures a royal pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The five-member bench had heard submissions from both Najib’s defence team and the prosecution over six days between Jan 19 and Feb 28.
On July 28, 2020, Najib was convicted by Justice Nazlan Ghazali, then a High Court judge, for abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) over SRC funds amounting to RM42 million.
He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million.
His appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed on Dec 8, 2021.
Najib began his 12-year prison term on Aug 23, 2022, immediately after the Federal Court upheld the original conviction and sentence.
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