Najib has until May 20 to seek Queen’s Counsel to represent him in the SRC appeal

Malaysia -By May 20, the Federal Court has ordered Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to submit his application for the appointment of a Queen’s Counsel (QC) from the United Kingdom to represent him in his appeal against his conviction and sentencing in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, according to a court order.

While participating in online proceedings, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul said that the deadline had been set by Federal Court deputy registrar Siti Hajar Mustaffa.

He also noted that in order to facilitate the admission of the QC, a preliminary hearing date has been set between June 20 and June 24. The precise date of the hearing, on the other hand, will be verified at the next case management.

The appointment of the QC will be made on an ad-hoc basis upon receipt of admission from the Malaysian court.

Moreover, Mohd Ashrof said that the court has set the dates of March 15 and 16 for the hearing of Najib’s appeal to introduce new evidence, while the next case management will be conducted on February 25 at 3 p.m. for the main appeal (against his conviction and sentencing in the SRC case).

In the six-page letter submitted to the secretariat of Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat on January 25, Najib’s intention in appointing a QC from the United Kingdom to aid the former premier in complicated matters and legal questions in his SRC International appeal at the Federal Court was revealed.

The Court of Appeal denied Najib’s request to adduce new evidence in his appeal on December 7, last year stating that Najib had failed to cumulatively satisfy Section 61 of the Courts of Judicature Act that new evidence was necessary for the administration of justice in the case.

The day after, the same court affirmed Najib’s conviction and sentence of 12 years in prison, as well as an RM210 million fine, for misappropriating RM42 million in SRC funds.

When Najib filed an appeal against the KL High Court ruling on July 28, 2020, the court denied his appeal. Justice Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil presided over a three-member bench that included Justices Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.

Following the verdict, Najib filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Court.