An Umno leader challenged the Bar Council to respond to a dissenting judgment in the court decision that rejected ex-premier Najib Abdul Razak’s review application in the SRC International case.
Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi accused the council of being “biased” and “playing politics” about a motion passed at the Malaysian Bar’s 78th annual general meeting yesterday.
The motion was to file a legal challenge against the Pardons Board’s decision to halve Najib’s sentence for his SRC International corruption conviction.
The Bar Council is the governing body of the Malaysian Bar.
The motion was passed by lawyers attending the Bar's AGM, and not by the council.
“They were silent when (former attorney-general) Tommy Thomas dropped the Lim Guan Eng corruption case,” he said.
“I challenge the Bar Council to respond to the (dissenting) judgment by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli.
“He said that Najib should be freed after being denied a fair trial,” said Puad.
In April last year, Rahman led a five-member Federal Court bench and delivered the sole dissenting judgment - that he was inclined to allow the review bid against Najib’s guilty verdict as well as the 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine in lieu of an additional five years in jail.
Further, Puad claimed the motion passed by the Bar, led by newly minted president Ezri Abdul Wahab, had created “confusion” which must be answered by both Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh.
“The Malaysian Bar motion is as if accusing the Pardons Board of being unfair and not under the prerogative of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he said on his Facebook page.
The former Batu Pahat MP added that Najib did not apply for a reduced sentence, but instead pleaded to be granted a full pardon on 12 arguments that he did not get a fair trial.
Ezri yesterday said the Bar is filing a legal challenge on how the Pardons Board had deliberated on Najib’s review application, and not on the final decision granted by the Agong.
In February, the board slashed Najib’s jail time from 12 years to six and reduced the penalty imposed from RM210 million to RM50 million.
The decision led to the possibility of Najib being released in August 2026 after his time in prison was reduced further over good behaviour.
In 2023, Najib also cited Rahman’s dissenting judgment to support his application for a royal pardon. - Mkini
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