KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bid to have the Federal Court revisit its previous decision to uphold his conviction and 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine in the SRC case will be coming up in the courts in January next year.
Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee confirmed that his client’s leave for review application will be heard by the Federal Court next January.
“Apart from fixing dates to file affidavits, the court has fixed the following days for the hearing of the review: January 19, 20 and 26 in 2023,” he told Malay Mail when contacted following a case management at the Federal Court.
Farhan confirmed that the Federal Court had scheduled these three days for the hearing of both the leave for review bid, and the actual review application on its merits if leave is granted.
He confirmed this meant the Federal Court would be hearing Najib’s application for leave for review first, and that it would then proceed to hearing the review within the same three days if leave is granted. This would also depend on how long lawyers from both sides take to present their submissions or arguments during the hearing for leave.
Najib’s review bid is also scheduled to come up for a case management on December 2.
Najib is currently a prisoner at Kajang Prison, with today being his 64th day as a prisoner since his August 23 imprisonment.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul confirmed that the Federal Court had fixed those three hearing dates in January 2023 for the review matter, as well as the December 2 case management date.
He also confirmed that the Federal Court has directed for Najib’s legal team to file an affidavit in reply by October 31, and for the prosecution to file its affidavit in reply by November 14, and for Najib’s legal team to file its final affidavit in reply by November 28, while submissions are to be filed by January 4, 2023.
In today’s case management, lead prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram also attended for the prosecution, while Najib was also represented by his lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and lawyers Syafiqah Sofian, and Wan Arfan Wan Othman.
Najib was previously found guilty in the High Court on July 28, 2020 over the misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s RM42 million, and lost his appeal at the Court of Appeal on December 8, 2021 against his conviction and sentencing.
On August 23, the Federal Court had upheld Najib’s conviction and 12-year jail term and RM210 million fine in the SRC case.
Najib had on September 6 filed an application at the Federal Court to ask for a review of the August 23 decision which maintained his conviction and jail and fine sentencing.
Based on Najib’s review application, he is seeking for the Federal Court to make several court orders, such as to either order his acquittal in the SRC case or to have his entire SRC trial to be reheard by a different High Court judge, or for his entire SRC appeal to be reheard by a new Federal Court panel of at least seven judges.
While Najib had filed the review bid in September, it would only be heard in January next year, as there are still court documents to be filed by both sides over the coming months.
