PUTRAJAYA, Aug 23 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak has made an eleventh-hour bid to recuse Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat from presiding over his final appeal against his conviction of misappropriating funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd at the Federal Court today.
At the beginning of hearing this morning, Najib's lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik informed the five-judge panel led by Tengku Maimun that his client filed an application last night.
The lawyer also confirmed a copy of the motion was served to prosecutors as well, which ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram affirmed.
Hisyam urged the court to deal with the recusal application first, but Tengku Maimun insisted that the defence proceed with its submission on the main appeal.
Tengku Maimun then asked again if Hisyam was going to present any oral submission, but the defence lawyer said no, except to reply to the prosecution on the points of law.
The chief judge and the lawyer went back-and-forth for a while with Hisyam insisting that he intended to wait for the outcome of the recusal application.
But Tengku Maimun again ordered Hisyam to get started on his defence submission while the court prepares the necessary documents to hear the recusal application.
“Tuan Haji, we are here not to waste time. If let's say the application for recusal is in your favour, then all things fall right? So nevermind, please proceed,” she said.
Hisyam finally complied and submitted his reply to prosecution's points of law.
The court then had a one hour break.
In the court documents filed for the recusal application sighted by Malay Mail, Najib said he had recently obtained excerpts of a Facebook post made by one “Zamani Ibrahim” in May 2018 which he claimed could lead to scepticism.
Najib said he believed the man who made the 2018 Facebook post is Tengku Maimun’s husband.
“I verily believe that these developments are highly disturbing in light of the fact that the said Zamani Ibrahim clearly had negative sentiments towards my leadership of this country while I was prime minister and had concluded I had siphoned sovereign government funds into my personal accounts.
“Being the husband of the chairperson that is adjudicating my appeal it is likely that he would have influenced the thinking of the mind of the chairperson as to my alleged culpability.
“I further state that considering the nature of their spousal relationship, it is likely that the mind of the learned chairperson would have been unconsciously influenced by the sentiments against me held by her ladyship’s husband,” Najib said in the affidavits in support of his recusal application against Tengku Maimun.
According to the documents submitted, “Zamani” is a lawyer and had spoken about the fall of the Barisan Nasional government and Najib as prime minister following the 14th general election in May 2018.
“Zamani” was quoted as saying he was “happy because Najib had been dethroned” and that “in hindsight it was Najib & his 1MDB debacles that broke the camel’s back”.
He also wrote “the siphoning of the sovereign government’s fund into his (Najib) personal account was too much abuse in the eye of the public”.
In the affidavit, Najib gave two past examples where High Court judges recused themselves from hearing cases that involved him due to their links to Umno. Najib was the previous Umno president and is still an active member.
One was his recent application to be represented by a Queen's Counsel for the SRC International case.
The two High Court judges who had been scheduled to hear it, Datuk Mohd Sofian Abd Razak and Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid, had recused themselves, explaining that their families were linked to Umno.
“Hence, this court being the apex court of the country must also adhere to the similar high standards as expounded by the High Court judge,” Najib said in the affidavit.
The other four Federal Court judges on today’s bench are Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Federal Court judges Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.
Deputy public prosecutors Donald Joseph Franklin, Sulaiman Kho Kheng Fuei, Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul and Manjira Vasudevan were present to assist Sithambaram.
The Court of Appeal had on December 8, 2021 upheld the High Court’s July 2020 verdict and sentence of 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million meted against Najib.
Najib had been found guilty of one count of abuse of power, three counts of criminal breach of trust, and three counts of money laundering.
A hearing in the country’s supreme court has been scheduled to take place over nine days, starting August 15 until August 19 and will resume today until August 26.
