Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
PUTRAJAYA: The application by Datuk Seri Najib Razak to recuse a judge over a Facebook post by her husband was a desperate, last-minute attempt to scuttle the SRC International Sdn Bhd appeal trial in 2022, says the prosecution.
Lead prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram said that the post by Datuk Zamani Ibrahim, husband of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, was a personal commentary on the political scenario leading up to 14th General Election four years ago and showed no personal animosity but rather a general comment by a Malaysian.
He said he found it "incredible" that the applicant (Najib) only learnt of the Facebook post on Aug 22, 2022, the eve of the appeal hearing on Aug 23, 2022.
The Facebook post then became the basis of an application Najib filed against the Chief Justice.
Tengku Maimun chaired the five-judge Federal Court panel comprising Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Justices Nallini Pathmanathan, Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah, who presided over Najib's final appeal in 2022.
"What a phenomenal coincidence that the applicant found out about a public Facebook post hours before the conclusion of the appeal hearing on Aug 23, 2022.
"The truth is, they (the defence) knew of the Facebook post but had found it to be unworthy of a recusal application earlier.
"The eleventh-hour application was (made in) pure desperation to adjourn the appeal," Sithambaram said.
He was making his submission at the review application by Najib over the SRC International Sdn Bhd case here on Wednesday (Feb 22).
Sithambaram said it was "absurd and insufficient" to assume an apparent bias solely on the spousal relationship between Zamani and the Chief Justice, especially when the alleged influence was based on a post that was made four years ago before the SRC prosecution.
"The respondent submits that the views of a spouse per se cannot be a ground for recusal.
"There must be circumstances that can show the interest – in this case, the view of the spouse is so close and direct that it renders the interest or views of the spouse indistinguishable from the judge," he added.
The hearing is before a five-judge panel chaired by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli.
Other judges are Federal Court judges Justices Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Rhodzariah Bujang, Nordin Hassan and Court of Appeal judge Justice Abu Bakar Jais.
Najib is seeking to review the Federal Court's decision of Aug 23, 2022 which upheld the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision to convict and sentence him to 12 years in jail and a RM210mil fine in the RM42mil SRC International case.
On Sept 6, last year, he applied for a review of the Federal Court's decision, claiming a "miscarriage of justice" in his case.
The hearing continues on Monday (Feb 27).
