Legal firm Shafee & Co, which represents former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak in an ongoing suit filed by SRC International, has urged the media to provide the full context of the case’s proceedings in their reporting.
This followed former SRC International director Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi’s testimony on Tuesday that Najib had controlled and administered the company through its former CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.
Shafee & Co claimed the media had failed to report on “critical concessions” made when the defence cross-examined Shahrol over the next two days.
“To ensure the public receives an accurate representation of the court proceedings, we highlight the following facts established (including that) when asked directly if Nik Faisal was Najib’s proxy, Shahrol declined to agree.
“The defence established that SRC board members who have testified so far acted entirely on representations made by Nik Faisal that were not independently verified with Najib.
“The defence noted that relying on Nik Faisal’s claims about what the former prime minister allegedly said amounted to ‘hearsay’ or ‘double hearsay’.
“The witnesses that have testified so far admitted that despite having the opportunity to speak with Najib, there was no attempt to independently verify the instructions Nik Faisal relayed,” the statement said.
The firm added that the media had failed to mention evidence from Nik Faisal’s 2015 MACC statement.
According to the firm, Nik Faisal had asserted in his statement to the MACC that he was appointed by 1MDB, and reporting for SRC was a formal process that went through the Minister of Finance (Incorporated) secretariat.
The firm argued that this was a formal process and contradicted the narrative that he reported directly to Najib.
“We urge the media to report on these proceedings with the full context provided by the official court records to prevent the spread of misleading information regarding the governance of SRC International,” said the statement.
‘Instructions personally signed by Najib’
Apart from testifying that Najib had actively controlled and administered the company through Nik Faisal, Shahrol, on March 3, also said that the former CEO was appointed to act as Najib’s proxy and acted as the link between the then prime minister and SRC’s board of directors.
Shahrol told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that the instructions conveyed by Nik Faisal during board meetings are confirmed in the minutes of shareholders’ meetings as personally signed by Najib, and that he is relaying Najib’s decisions, which all directors are obliged to implement.
Subsequently, he explained, he had no reason or grounds at the time not to believe Nik Faisal.
Filed in 2021 by SRC and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, the civil suit seeks a declaration that Najib is liable for RM42 million and claims damages for knowing receipt, dishonest assistance, misfeasance in public office, and abuse of power. - Mkini
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