Malaysia 1MDB trial: Najib’s lawyers cast doubt on trial judge’s credibility with ‘new’ evidence

Defence says evidence shows Justice Nazlan Ghazali had ‘direct’ knowledge of Maybank’s role in SRC International’s formation but did not mention it in his judgment

Prosecution dismisses the allegation, saying Nazlan’s ties with Maybank are ‘in the knowledge of everyone’

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Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak (centre) during a break in proceedings at the Federal Court on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:30pm, 15 Aug 2022

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s last-ditch attempt to overturn his prison conviction in a case tied to the 1MDB financial scandal kicked off on Monday, with the defence trying to introduce “fresh” evidence casting doubt on the trial judge’s impartiality.

Najib, who was found guilty in 2020, faces a 12-year prison sentence at the end of this appeal, having already lost a previous one last December on top of being described as a “national embarrassment” by the Court of Appeal.

In this round, his fate is in the hands of five top judges led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The Federal Court – Malaysia’s apex court – is set to hear his case for nine days between Monday and August 26.

Lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, who took over as Najib’s lead counsel just a month ago, pleaded to the bench to consider the new set of evidence which is squarely aimed at the credibility of Justice Nazlan Ghazali, saying the verdict against his client was jeopardised by the trial judge’s close ties to Maybank, one of Malaysia’s biggest banks.

Arguing that the judge was tainted by his prior employment at the bank, Hisyam said the evidence showed that the judge had “direct” and “special knowledge” of the formation of SRC International, whose funds were misappropriated by Najib, with Maybank being instrumental to its formation.

SRC International, a now-defunct subsidiary of the 1MDB state fund, was set up as a vehicle “to meet Malaysia’s future energy needs”.

“Maybank played the main role in forming SRC [but] nowhere in [Nazlan’s] judgment noted the role played by Maybank,” Hisyam said of the trial judge’s 317-page decision. This, he added, went against the judge’s finding that the company was set up by Najib in his interest to misappropriate the funds.

“His lordship must recuse himself,” the lawyer said.