The Federal Court has just dismissed former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s application for leave to review his SRC International case in a majority 4-1 decision.
In the majority decision, read by Justice Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, the panel found no bias or breach of natural justice.
“He (Najib) was the author of his own misfortune. The review application should be, and hereby, dismissed,” the judge said here today (March 31).
After hearing a lengthy submission by the defence and the prosecution over the span of 6 days in January and February on why the former PM should or should not be given leave for the review, panel chair Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli had said the court’s decision would come “no later than March 31”.
If leave is granted, the Federal Court will then fix a date to have Najib’s review application heard on its full merits.
If the leave is not granted, Najib will have to resign himself to his fate in Kajang Prison where he is currently in.
Najib was seeking leave to review the Federal Court’s decision of August 23, 2022 which upholds the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision to convict and sentence him to 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine in the RM42 million SRC International case.
One of the points raised by Najib’s team was the “fundamental failure of a fair trial”.
Meanwhile, lead prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram told the Federal Court that Najib was complicit with his new counsel in seeking an adjournment during the final appeal despite knowing that the hearing dates had been fixed 4 months before.
He said Najib had taken on new lawyers with the hope of postponing the hearing of the appeal and so the court had the right to refuse the adjournment sought.
There was no breach of natural justice with this refusal, Sithambaram said, as it was “self-inflicted”.
Stay tuned for more updates!
