PETALING JAYA: Days before the Court of Appeal is set to announce the outcome of Najib Razak’s appeal in the RM42 million SRC International case, the former prime minister has filed an application to adduce fresh evidence.
Najib filed a notice of motion in the Court of Appeal to take evidence from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki and further evidence from SRC investigating officer Rosli Hussein or others deemed fit by the court.
In his affidavit in support of the motion, Najib said he was filing the motion as all issues raised in the High Court and Court of Appeal had not been fully determined and that it was within the interest of justice that he obtain a fair trial by producing all evidence.
The Pekan MP said the MACC, on Nov 19, had confirmed that RM65 million of 1MDB-linked funds were recovered from Cutting Edge Industries, a company in Singapore controlled by Tawfiq Ayman, and his partner, Samuel Goh.
Tawfiq is the husband of former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
It was reported earlier this year that Iron Rhapsody – owned by Tawfiq and his son – received a total of RM66 million from companies and bank accounts linked to Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), the fugitive financier at the centre of the 1MDB scandal.
Singapore police were also reported to have informed BNM in 2015 and 2016 of these suspicious transactions involving companies owned by Tawfiq, with the funds coming from accounts linked to Jho Low. Zeti was BNM governor at the time.
Najib said the additional evidence from Azam and Rosli needed to be taken as it was not available during trial.
“I believe it was suppressed by the respondent (public prosecutor) and the relevant investigating agencies, including BNM, MACC and the Special Task Force, to prejudice my fair trial for political reasons,” he said.
The Court of Appeal registry last week said it was maintaining the Dec 8 date for the decision after rejecting Najib’s application for a deferment.
Najib had previously said he would only come back to Kuala Lumpur on Dec 5 from Singapore, and needed to undergo a seven-day quarantine until Dec 12.
However, with the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) arrangement between Malaysia and Singapore since Nov 29, there is no need for a quarantine any more.
Najib joined his wife, Rosmah Mansor, in Singapore after the Melaka state elections, to be with their daughter, Najwa, who gave birth recently.
He is appealing to quash his conviction on seven charges of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) over SRC International funds.
The appeals court panel, chaired by Judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, had earlier reserved its decision.
The other judges on the panel were Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
In July last year, High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty on all seven charges.
Najib was accused of abusing his power as the prime minister by giving government guarantees on SRC International’s RM4 billion loan from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP).
He was also slapped with three counts of CBT and three money laundering charges in relation to RM42 million belonging to SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. - FMT
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