Appeals court reserves judgment on Najib's bid to remove Sri Ram as prosecutor

PUTRAJAYA (April 23): The Court of Appeal has deferred its decision on Datuk Seri Najib Razak's (pictured) bid to disqualify former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram from leading the prosecution in his 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case regarding 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power involving RM2.28 billion.

A three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusoff reserved its judgment after hearing submissions by Najib's lawyers Harvinderjit Singh and Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, and deputy public prosecutors Ahmad Akram Gharib and Mohammad Mustaffa Kunyalam.

Harvinderjit is questioning Sri Ram's objectivity and possible bias in leading the prosecution as the former judge had been involved in the investigations in the 1MDB case.

"It is improper for someone who is involved in the investigation to be involved in prosecution as there would be a danger of bias on the accused person who is our client," the lawyer said, pointing out that Sri Ram was appointed to lead the prosecution 20 days before Najib was charged in the 1MDB case.

"He (Sri Ram) is acting in conflict of interests. Furthermore, Sri Ram has not put any evidence to deny his potential biasness (in leading the prosecution)," said Harvinderjit.

The lawyer cited Attorney-General Tommy Thomas' press statement on Sri Ram's appointment and Thomas' interview which he gave to The Edge Malaysia weekly and Malaysiakini in September last year as acknowledgement of the former judge's appointment to oversee the 1MDB case.

He said Sri Ram's letter of appointment as issued by the public prosecutor (Thomas) states that the former judge will supervise investigations and prosecution in 1MDB and other cases.

Harvinderjit further argued that the prosecution has a large team and there was no need for the Federal Court judge to be included.

"The ideal prosecutor is for someone who has no connection to the case and to ensure that the truth comes out and the trial is conducted fairly," he said.

Shafee and Harvinderjit further pointed to Sri Ram's statement made when Najib was charged, where he called the former premier a kleptocrat and the biggest thief.

In reply, Akram said the defence had not proven that Sri Ram had acted with bias when in fact the former judge had been fair to Najib.

The DPP pointed out that despite being a former Federal Court judge, Sri Ram had failed to influence a Sessions Court judge with regard to Najib's bail amount. Sri Ram's agreement to Najib posting bail in instalments also shows that he is fair, said Akram.

He asked if Sri Ram cannot influence the Sessions Court judge, how can the defence argue that by leading the prosecution, he can influence the High Court judge.

"Furthermore, it is common knowledge the investigation powers lies with the investigative agencies. It is also the practice that once these investigative agencies had concluded their investigations, then and only then the investigation papers are submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers for a decision to be taken on whether or not to institute the charges."

"It is inconceivable that Sri Ram had gone to the ground and commence investigations for there is a risk of him being called as a witness and that would place him in a position of conflict," Akram added.

Earlier, Akram objected to the appeal in saying that what trial judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah had decided does not amount to a "decision" under Section 50(1) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1954 as it does not dispose of the rights of the parties and Najib can appeal the matter at the end of the trial.

However, Shafee replied that whether the issue could also be raised before the trial.

In the end, the bench reserved its judgment on the preliminary objection by the prosecution and the decision on Najib's appeal.

Justice Zabariah noted that Najib's 1MDB trial would start on May 14 and said a decision would be made by this bench before that.

The other two judges were Justice Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang and Justice Datuk Lau Bee Lan. — theedgemarkets.com

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