Johor PKR’s Hassan Karim calls on all parties to respect Federal Court’s decision in Najib’s SRC International case

PASIR GUDANG, Aug 26 — All parties need to stop disputing or criticising the Federal Court’s decision on Tuesday which upheld the conviction and sentence against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, said Johor PKR’s Hassan Abdul Karim.

The outspoken Opposition lawyer-activist said this was because the judicial process in relation to the case had been running without any major interruptions since 2018, giving enough opportunity for Najib to prepare for his trial in the name of justice.

“Najib’s case has been ongoing for about four years, starting at the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and finally, the Federal Court.

He said the trial involved nine judges, all of whom ruled that Najib was guilty,” he said.

Hassan, who is also the Pasir Gudang MP, said all parties must respect and abide by the court’s decision in the SRC International case that has been investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP).

“With that, the Federal Court’s decision does not reflect the failure of our judicial institution as alleged by Najib’s ex-counsel Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

“The judicial institution did not fail; rather it was Zaid himself who failed in this Najib case,” said Hassan when met by the media after inspecting a damaged fence at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pasir Gudang 3 here today.

Zaid, a prominent lawyer and politician, was Najib’s last line of defence in the SRC International case at the Federal Court.

On Thursday, Zaid had claimed that the former prime minister’s case reflected the failure of existing judicial institution.

Hassan said all parties should not issue with baseless accusations just because they have lost their case in court.

However, he said Najib still has the opportunity for a judicial review within 14 days in addition to having the right to apply for a royal pardon.

“The development and acceptance of the case shows that the country and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob have preserved the rule of law.

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.

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.

On Tuesday, a five-judge panel at the Federal Court, led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, upheld Najib’s conviction and sentence after a hearing which lasted five days.