Datuk Seri Najib Razak is pictured at the Kuala Lumpur High Court January 27, 2022. – Picture by Hari Anggara
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — The Federal Court has directed Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to file his application to appoint a Queen’s Counsel (QC) from the United Kingdom for his appeal against his conviction and sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case by May 20.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul said the dateline was fixed by Federal Court deputy registrar Siti Hajar Mustaffa during online proceedings today.
“The hearing for admission of the QC is tentatively fixed on a date between June 20 and June 24. However, the actual date of hearing will be confirmed during the next case management,” he said.
The QC’s appointment will be on an ad-hoc basis after obtaining admission from the Malaysian court.
Meanwhile, Mohd Ashrof said the court also fixed March 15 and 16 to hear Najib’s appeal to adduce new evidence while for the main appeal (against his conviction and sentence in the SRC case), the next case management will be held on Feb 25 at 3 pm.
On Jan 25, law firm Messrs Shafee & Co had submitted a six-page letter to the secretariat of Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat on Najib’s intention to appoint a QC from the UK to assist the former premier in complex issues and legal questions in his SRC International appeal at the Federal Court.
On Dec 7 last year, the Court of Appeal dismissed Najib’s application to adduce new evidence in his appeal by ruling that Najib had failed to cumulatively satisfy Section 61 of the Courts of Judicature Act that fresh evidence was required for justice in the case.
On the next day, the same court upheld the conviction and 12-year jail term and RM210 million fine on Najib for misappropriating RM42 million in SRC funds.
Justice Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, who led a three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, dismissed Najib’s appeal against the KL High Court decision on July 28, 2020.
After the ruling, Najib then filed a notice of appeal to the Federal Court. — Bernama