Najib’s legal team objects to Sri Ram as DPP on grounds of biasness
Among the contentions by Najib’s legal team was that Sri Ram was biased and in conflict of interest when acting as DPP against the former Najib.
They cited, among others, an alleged meeting between Sri Ram and then attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali in January 2018.
In a Facebook post last year, Apandi claimed that Sri Ram approached him at his house in January 2018, supposedly under the instruction of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Apandi, who himself used to be a Federal Court judge, claimed that Sri Ram tried to coax him to play a role to arrest Najib, who then was the sitting prime minister.
Najib’s legal team also contended that Sri Ram’s appointment as DPP by then attorney-general Tommy Thomas was invalid, claiming that the Aug 30, 2018, letter of appointment not only appointed Sri Ram as DPP but also wrongly empowered him with investigative powers.
The High Court judge who dismissed Najib’s disqualification application on Feb 15 is Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.
Zaini is also presiding over the ongoing trial of the 1MDB audit report amendment case against Najib and the sovereign wealth fund’s former CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy.
In the ongoing 1MDB audit report trial, Najib is charged with using his position to order amendments to the sovereign wealth fund's final audit report before it was presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in order to prevent any action against him.
Co-accused Arul Kanda was charged with abetting Najib in making the amendments.
The charges are framed under Section 23 (1) of the MACC Act 2009, which specifies a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
The 1MDB audit report trial will resume on Sept 27.
Facebook post claims by Apandi are just teenager gossip.
ReplyDeleteNajib can't use it in Court.
The key issue now is the Court Cluster is using the current politicised AG to gratuitously withdraw Corruption prosecutions initiated by previous AG Tommy Thomas. Leading to acquittal of many UMNO figures, NOT because the Court found them innocent after a proper trial.
Najib has not been able to avail himself of this tactic , because Gopal Sri Ram is the appointed prosecutor in his cases , and the PN AG can't touch him.
That is why Najib is so strenuously trying to get Gopal Sri Ram dismissed. By hook or by Crook.
Ironically, it is Najib's use of external prosecutor Shafee Abdullah in Anwar Ibrahim's case which established the legal precedent for external prosecutors. Anwar appealed his objections all the way to Federal Court, but lost.
The accused doesn't get to choose his prosecutor. And there must not be a separate law for Najib.