Malaysia 1MDB case: hearing for Najib’s final appeal begins as critics slam his bid to ‘play games’
- The top court threw out Najib’s application to admit new evidence earlier this week, while his lead counsel also attempted to discharge himself from the case on Thursday
- The latest manoeuvres were criticised by the legal fraternity and the opposition, which accused Najib and his legal team of deliberately trying to delay proceedings
Proceedings on Thursday were also delayed in the morning, when Najib’s lead counsel, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, applied to discharge himself from the case on grounds that he was not ready to defend his client.
The court’s five-member bench, chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, ruled that Hisyam could not remove himself from his current role, especially as it would leave his client unrepresented.
“(The) superior court has inherent jurisdiction to ensure courts function properly. You (Hisyam) are the key actor in ensuring this works. The court has authority to protect its processes,” Tengku Maimun said when delivering the ruling.
Najib later said in a statement that he opposed the hearing proceeding despite his lawyer’s wish to discharge himself, saying his “rights to life, liberty and right to a fair hearing is at stake”.
The hearing began with the prosecution presenting its case, as the appellant’s counsel – who would typically be the first to argue the merits of their case – chose not to present oral submissions and instead informed the court that they were satisfied with their written submissions filed earlier.
Hisyam had taken on Najib’s case barely a month before the apex court was due to hear the appeal, after the former premier dropped his previous legal team that had represented him from the start of his case four years ago.