Skip to main content
Best News Website or Mobile Service
WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2022
Best News Website or Mobile Service
Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2022
Hamburger Menu

Advertisement

Advertisement

Asia

Najib in jail: What are his options after losing his final appeal in 1MDB-linked case?

Supporters of Najib Razak submitted a memorandum to the king on Wednesday, a day after he was sent to jail over the SRC International guilty conviction, to demand a royal pardon for the former prime minister.

Najib in jail: What are his options after losing his final appeal in 1MDB-linked case?
Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, wearing a white shirt, being taken away from the court complex in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Aug 23, 2022. (Photo: AP/Vincent Thian)

KUALA LUMPUR: Having failed to overturn his SRC International conviction in Malaysia’s apex court, disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak and his legal team have a couple of options to explore. 

On Tuesday (Aug 23), after the Federal Court upheld his conviction and sentencing, Najib’s lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik was reported by Malaysian media as stating the defence team would consider filing a review application on his conviction. 

“I will not be able to say it now, but we will be discussing that possibility,” Mr Teh said in a brief statement to the press. 

Malaysian lawyers told CNA that in addition to the review application, the Pekan MP and his legal counsel could also file an application to be pardoned by the Malaysian king.

Najib, who is the first Malaysian prime minister to be imprisoned, began serving his 12-year jail term on Tuesday. He also has to pay a fine of RM210 million (US$46 million) for seven charges against his conduct in relation to SRC International. 

REVIEW APPLICATION

Criminal lawyer Goh Cia Yee explained that for a review application, there is a very high legal threshold to get the application heard. 

“This is an inherent power of the Federal Court under Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court, where they can review any application to prevent injustice or an abuse of the court process,” he said.

“However, the legal threshold that must be met for such applications is extremely high,” he added, as a review focused strictly on questions of law relating to the manner in which the hearing was conducted. 

The purpose of a review, Mr Goh explained, was to prevent a miscarriage of justice or an abuse of process that might have occurred during the course of the hearing.

There is case law (previous court decisions) which set out the legal principles to be considered by the Federal Court in exercising its inherent power to review its own decision, he added.

If the review application passes the first hurdle, the line-up of Federal Court judges hearing the application will be different from the five which heard Najib’s Federal Court appeal.

“If the court allows review applications regularly, there will not be a finality in litigation and so their decisions will not hold much meaning,” Mr Goh said.

PETITION FOR PARDON

Constitutional law and human rights lawyer New Sin Yew explained that the second option - the petition for pardon by the king - is not a judicial, but an executive process.

“The judicial process ended with the Federal Court. This is an executive process where the executive may choose to remit, suspend or commute the sentence,” he explained. 

This power can only be exercised by the king, Mr New added, after having consulted or been recommended by the Pardons Board. 

This pardon will only be in relation to an offence for which Najib had been convicted, and will not affect other court cases the former prime minister is involved in. 

“There is no time limit for Najib to do so, but if he does not do it within 14 days, he will be disqualified as a member of parliament.”

“If he files it, he will only be disqualified if and when his petition is denied,” Mr New explained. 

According to Regulation 113 of the Prison Regulation 2000, a prisoner could petition the king or the state ruler on the matter of the prisoner’s conviction or sentence twice - once as soon as practicable after his conviction, and another after three years from the date of his conviction. 

Following that, such petitions from the same prisoner would be granted at two-year intervals unless there were special circumstances. 

On Wednesday, Najib’s supporters gathered outside the national palace in Kuala Lumpur to submit a memorandum to palace officials, Malaysian media reported. 

They have two demands - a royal pardon for Najib, and for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief to meet the king to present the evidence that there was a conflict of interests in regards to Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, according to the Star. 

Judge Mohd Nazlan was the High Court judge who found Najib guilty in July 2020. Najib’s legal team had argued that there was an alleged conflict of interest as the judge did not disclose his previous role with Maybank while the bank was 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) strategic advisor. 

Malay daily Sinar Harian quoted House of Representatives speaker Azhar Azizan Harun as saying on Wednesday that Najib must submit an application for royal pardon within 14 hours or he will lose his Pekan seat. 

This is in line with Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, which states that a person is disqualified from being a member of either house of the parliament if he has been convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than RM2,000, and has not received a free pardon. 

Meanwhile, electoral watchdog Bersih launched an online petition to appeal to the king not to grant a pardon to Najib.

The petition on change.org said: “With all our hearts we appeal to Your Majesty to consider our request to deny any appeal for pardon by Najib, who has brought shame to the country.”

“As a nation, we must not tolerate corruption or the corrupt, whoever that person may be,” it added.

Najib Razak was found guilty on seven charges against his conduct in relation to SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB. (Photo: AFP/File/Manan VATSYAYANA)

NAJIB STILL FACES MORE COURT TRIALS

However, even with the main SRC International case over, Najib still faces more pending court cases. 

The former prime minister is facing yet another trial involving SRC International, where he is charged with three counts of money laundering totalling RM27 million. 

The main 1MDB case sees Najib facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes, totalling RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds, and also 21 charges of money laundering for the same funds.

Najib and former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah are also being jointly charged with six criminal breaches of trust, involving RM6.64 billion of government money when the former was the Finance Minister. 

Finally, Najib faces another case of abuse of power where he was said to have used his position to tamper with the 1MDB final audit report, and order amendments on the report before it was presented to the Malaysian parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. 

Source: CNA/vt(tx)

Advertisement

Also worth reading

Advertisement