PUTRAJAYA, Aug 18 — After the Federal Court today dismissed his lead counsel’s application for discharge, Datuk Seri Najib Razak lamented that he is now effectively “defenceless” in his final appeal against his conviction of misappropriating funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd.
“Unfortunately, the court did not allow them to be discharged and that includes my team of solicitors,” he told reporters at the Palace of Justice here. “I would also like to explain that while Tan Sri Shafee and his company have done a sterling job to represent me, notwithstanding that I have lost both at the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
In a statement provided to the media, Najib said he was “not ashamed” to admit that he was desperate to seek for new counsel after having his bid to have a QC argue his case denied, as any litigant in his predicament would have done the same. He further noted in his statement that he was convinced this was an appropriate decision after being told that other high-profile appeals in the past were granted adjournments in the spirit of due process and to facilitate an effective representation of an accused person.
The Court of Appeal had on December 8, 2021 upheld the High Court’s July 2020 verdict and sentence of 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million meted against Najib.