KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be filing his application to admit a Queen’s Counsel (QC) in his final appeal to strike off the conviction of his SRC International Sdn Bhd (SRC) case at the High Court by the end of May.
The Queen’s Counsel is the most senior barrister or solicitor advocate who is recognised as an expert and leader in their legal field.
According to the Deputy Public Prosecutor, Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul, the decision was validated after the case management before the Deputy Registrar of the Federal Court in Putrajaya virtually this evening.
If the application is not successful, the former Prime Minister can appeal to the Federal Court.
“The hearing of the appeal will only be fixed after the application for QC is decided by the court,” he told the media.
Earlier this year, Najib, in a letter addressed to the Secretary of the Chief Judge of Malaysia stated his intention to appoint a QC from the United Kingdom to assist him in the SRC appeal case.
The letter was written by Najib’s defence counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
The request was made as the QC would have the expertise to assist Najib in complex issues and legal questions in his SRC appeal.
The Court of Appeal maintain Najib’s conviction and 12 years’ jail sentence and RM210 million in fine delivered by the Kuala Lumpur High Court after finding him guilty on seven counts of misappropriation charges involving the funds of SRC on 8 December 2021.
The court also rejected Najib’s request to adduce fresh evidence in his misappropriation appeal as there were no special circumstances to do that.
Among the fresh evidence that Najib wanted to include were the involvement of former Governor of Bank Negara, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar who allegedly abetted fugitive businessman, Jho Low or Low Taek Jho in misappropriating the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and its subsidiary SRC International’s funds.
On 28 July 2020, High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali sentenced Najib to 12 years in prison and RM210 in fine after finding him guilty on seven counts of criminal breach of trust, power abuse and money-laundering of RM42 million belonging to SRC. -MalaysiaGazette
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