Apex court to decide on Najib's SRC review bid by end-March

The hearing of former prime minister Najib Razak’s application for a review of his RM42 million SRC International case at the Federal Court ended yesterday after six days of submissions from both parties. 

Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli, who chaired a five-member bench, said the court needed time to deliberate and that the parties would be notified of the date no later than March 31, for the court to deliver its decision.

"We are not in the position to decide the matter today," he said.

The other four judges on the bench were Federal Court judges Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Rhodzariah Bujang and Nordin Hassan and Court of Appeal judge Abu Bakar Jais.

Throughout the six-day proceedings, Najib's counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah argued that the bench which heard Najib’s main appeal had made a fundamental error in law by not allowing the adjournment of the trial and not allowing Najib’s ex-counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik to discharge himself.
 
He also said that a Facebook post by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat’s husband on May 11, 2018, before the 14th general election, had amounted to a public declaration of hatred against Najib.

He said the top judge should have known about the post and asked the parties involved whether she should recuse herself from the panel.

Meanwhile, ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram concluded that there was no breach of natural justice or miscarriage of justice or abuse of the court process in the case as the defence was given all opportunity to submit its final appeal but Hisyam chose not to take the opportunities given on the pretext that he was not prepared.

He also said that Najib had taken on new lawyers in the hope of postponing the hearing of the appeal, and that the court had the right to refuse the adjournment sought.

Najib, in his review application, is seeking to overturn the decision made by a five-member bench of the Federal Court led by Tengku Maimun on Aug 23 last year, upholding his conviction, 12-year jail sentence and fine for the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International funds.