Shafee’s open court statement ‘false’, Zaid says in letter to judges

 

Lawyers Zaid Ibrahim (right) and Liew Teck Huat say Shafee Abdullah did not withdraw but was discharged as Najib Razak’s counsel.

KUALA LUMPUR: The law firm of Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners has written a letter to the Federal Court disputing a statement made by former prime minister Najib Razak’s co-counsel, Shafee Abdullah, during proceedings on Tuesday.

Jointly signed by lawyers Zaid Ibrahim and Liew Teck Huat, the letter described as “false” Shafee’s statement that he withdrew from acting for Najib in the SRC International corruption appeal due to dissatisfaction with Zaid’s team.

In fact, it said, Shafee was discharged by Najib from acting for him.

“We know this because when instructed to take over conduct of the case, we were extended a copy of the appellant’s (Najib) letter to (Shafee) dated July 25, 2022 discharging (Shafee) and his firm for several reasons set out therein,” the letter added.

Zaid’s firm, however, did not enclose Najib’s letter or set out the reasons he had cited due to solicitor-client privilege.

“We have to add that (Shafee) was aware that he had been discharged from acting for (Najib) on July 25, as (Shafee’s) own firm wrote to this honourable court on the morning of July 26, enclosing an official notice that he and his firm had been discharged,” the letter said.

“The fact that (Shafee) would deliberately make an untrue statement in open court for whatever reason, is, with respect, not something that can be left uncorrected,” Zaid and Liew said in the letter.

As officers of the court, they said, it was their duty to bring the matter to the court’s attention.

After the prosecution ended its submission last Friday, Najib’s appeal was scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

However, on Tuesday, lead defence counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik informed the court that Najib had filed an application the day before to recuse Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat from hearing his appeal.

In the application, Najib claimed there was a likelihood of bias on the chief justice’s part due to a statement her husband had posted on social media four years earlier about Najib.

On Tuesday, while the proceedings were going on, Shafee appeared and informed the court that he had been re-engaged by Najib to argue the recusal application.

The court fixed the application for immediate hearing, and dismissed it.

It went on to affirm the conviction and sentence handed down by the High Court on July 28, 2020 and the Court of Appeal on Dec 8 last year.

Najib began serving his 12-year prison term shortly after the Federal Court decision.

The other members of the apex court bench who sat with the chief justice were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Mary Lim and Zabidin Diah. - FMT