Najib deprived of fair hearing during SRC International case appeal, says lawyer

PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's defence team has said they were deprived of a fair hearing in the SRC International Sdn Bhd appeal as the Court of Appeal had badly mistreated them during the proceedings last year.

Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah - who is submitting in an appeal at the Federal Court relating to Najib's application to adduce new evidence in his SRC International appeal - said the panel of three appellate court judges chaired by Justice Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil had "prejudged" the defence team as they requested for an adjournment due to a misfortune involving Covid-19.

One of the lawyers in the defence team had tested positive for Covid-19 just two days before the decision in Najib's appeal on Dec 8, 2021 and a day before the defence was to argue on a last-minute attempt to adduce new evidence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd appeal on Dec 7, 2021.

Muhammad Shafee said the defence requested for a 10-day adjournment, as per the Covid-19 quarantine then, but it was brushed aside and they were compelled to participate in a hybrid proceeding pursuant to Section 15A of the Court of Judicature (Amendment) Act 2020.

"The Court of Appeal didn't give us reasonable time to prepare. What transpired on Dec 7 (2021) is a pre-judgment," the lawyer said.

On Dec 7, 2021, Najib's team brought before the court an application seeking for the Court of Appeal to allow and direct for the viva voce evidence (oral evidence) of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, among others, to be taken for the purpose of the SRC International appeal.

Muhammad Shafee said the hearing on Dec 7 had "started off on the wrong foot" as Najib was threatened with his bail being revoked due to his (Najib) absence in court that morning.

The proceedings however proceeded through a hybrid proceeding where the judges and the prosecution team were present in open court while the defence team as well as Najib took part through online conference.

This, he said, set the tone for the subsequent development during the proceedings.

"This is not a situation where he (Najib) can simply will it to happen. When one person is positive, the others are not positive but the rest are close contacts. According to the SOP (of the court then), we can't even enter the court complex. But we were questioned on this,” he said.

"In the interest of justice, the court ought to be more sympathetic," added Muhammad Shafee.

Ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram is expected to reply to Muhammad Shafee's submissions this afternoon.

Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat is chairing a panel of five judges who are presiding over the appeal.

The other judges on the panel are the Court of Appeal president Justice Rohana Yusuf, Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judge Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh.

In the proceedings on Tuesday (March 5), the Pekan MP is appealing against the dismissal of the Court of Appeal in relation to his attempt to adduce new evidence in his SRC International appeal.

Najib had filed on Dec 1 last year, an application seeking for the Court of Appeal to allow and direct for the viva voce evidence (oral evidence) of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, among others, to be taken for the purpose of his SRC International appeal at the appellate court.

Najib's application was dismissed by the appellate court on Dec 7, the same year, on grounds that Najib had failed to prove extremely exceptional circumstances for the evidence to be adduced.