Why would a Queen's Counsel (QC), a member of Britain's legal professional elite, take up convicted felon Najib Abdul Razak's case?
There can be only one reason. Money.
Conversely, for many Malaysians, there is only one reason why the QC should not defend Najib. The answer is the moral viewpoint.
The QC should not associate himself with the most corrupt prime minister in the world, who brought a nation to its knees. He will damage his reputation and risk becoming a political pariah.
Najib excels at intimidation. He hopes that the presence of the QC will intimidate the prosecution lawyers and judges.
However, there is one small consolation if the QC were to take up Najib's case.
The world will once again be reminded of the evil deeds of this kleptocrat, and these prompts will strengthen our resolve to throw Najib in prison.
Who can forget the highlights of his abuse of power to keep the 1MDB scandal hidden? The sacking of members of his cabinet and the attorney-general who dared to question him. The complicity of various financial institutions around the world. The threats. The cover-ups. The denials.
Most shameful is the role played by the United Kingdom. There was relatively little press coverage about Najib's 1MDB scandal and even less criticism of Najib during his tenure as PM.
It was only after the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) had written extensively about 1MDB and fully exposed Najib, did the British picked up the slack.
The Brits must have valued their favourable trading arrangement with Najib and his Battersea rejuvenation project, amongst other things.
No one can stop the QC from accepting Najib's proposal if there is a legal issue to fight over and, in all probability, the Malaysian court will approve the QC's appointment.
The Malaysian judiciary has been very careful in the past to give Najib as much leeway as possible so that he cannot claim that his trial was not fair.
Remember the various delay tactics, the alleged illnesses, and how he kept the judges waiting because he was late? We thought the judiciary was weak, but as we now realise, they had their reasons.
Nevertheless, both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have tried and sentenced Najib after finding him guilty.
Real reason
The QC is an expert in constitutional law. No one disputes that. It is only in very rare cases when a QC will act for others as a matter of principle; meaning, there is no talk of money involved.
The QC is at liberty to pick up Najib's case on the basis that there is a legal issue to be fought over. He may consider Najib's case an interesting challenge.
Whether he wins or not is another matter. He is aware that what he embarks on is not a re-trial of the facts because his focus will be on the issues of law.
Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Najib's lawyer, may argue that the QC has the experience and expertise to deal with complex issues and legal questions pertaining to Najib's case; but Malaysians know that both Shafee and Najib are being disingenuous.
It is not true that Shafee does not know his legal 'stuff' because the important thing is that both he and Najib have run out of road.
The real reason Najib appointed the QC to quash his conviction in the RM42 million SRC International (SRC) corruption case is simply to buy time.
Najib is desperate. He wants to delay his appeal and his imprisonment.
On Dec 7 last year, Najib failed in his bid to adduce fresh evidence in his appeal against the RM42 million SRC graft case. On Dec 8, he also failed to overturn the guilty verdict and sentencing in the SRC case.
The desperate duo of Najib and Shafee were merely being creative with their request to appoint a QC.
Malaysians are sick to the teeth with Najib's delay tactics. They want justice to be seen and not postponed. They want Najib jailed. They want him to be made an example of to halt the endemic corruption amongst politicians and civil servants.
What of the Malaysian judiciary? They are probably equally frustrated by Najib's delay manoeuvres. After all, their integrity is also at stake. This matter has dragged on and on, and the rakyat will wonder if this delay is another ruse to free Najib.
Najib has no end of plots and subplots taking place alongside his appeal and the QC's appointment.
If Umno triumphs in the Johor snap election, will they demand that GE15 be called early? Najib hopes to return to power with a win. He can then engineer a royal pardon and hey presto, Najib and his allegedly equally corrupt peers, like his former deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is awaiting trial for corruption, can rejoice and wipe all their slates clean.
Najib put the nation through a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from apathy, to angst, to anger, to atrophy. Together with Shafee, they managed to delay his trials with illness, with being late and keeping the judge waiting. He wandered off mid-trial and failed to inform the court officials. Even Shafee's son's wedding, and dog, were used as excuses to further delay Najib's trial.
If prostitution is the world's oldest profession, then the legal profession comes a close second.
Do lawyers care if the client is a Bugis prince or a political pariah? Absolutely not, because what matters to most lawyers is that the cheque does not bounce.
So, will the QC take the path of morality or the money route? - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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