Najib's petition to UN 'entirely up to him', says chief justice

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat today said that Najib Razak's petition to the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention seeking release from prison or a retrial of his SRC International case does not affect the judiciary. 

She said Najib’s act after the Federal Court delivered its decision on Aug 23 last year was "entirely up to him".

"Our job is done. We have discharged our responsibilities in terms of deciding on the case. 

"Whatever he wants to do, whatever avenue he wants to explore, that is beyond us," she said at a press conference after speaking at the opening of the Legal Year 2023 in Putrajaya today.

The former prime minister filed the petition last week at the office of the High Commission of Geneva via digital submission.

Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client filed the petition to ask for a release or a retrial following the appeal hearing at the Federal Court which he claimed had serious defects and was contrary to the rules of international justice.

Najib is serving a 12-year jail term at Kajang Prison after losing his final appeal in the Federal Court to set aside his conviction, jail sentence and fine of RM210 million for misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International funds.