I WISH to make this media statement as there have been numerous queries from the media to me as to why my law firm, Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners (ZIST) were discharged by Datuk Seri Najib Razak as solicitors on record for his ongoing appeals in the SRC International matter before the Federal Court.
This morning, lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik informed the Federal Court that my law firm has been discharged.
I confirm that this decision was made by Najib with my full support and agreement.
As I understand it, Najib’s decision was prompted by his belief that his lawyers cannot serve any useful purpose as lawyers for him anymore in the ongoing hearing relating to the appeals in the Federal Court.
Najib believes that the prevailing assumption of the judges is that the re-organisation of his legal team towards the end of last month was part of a tactical ploy and a ruse to stifle and stall proceedings so as to avoid or delay the final judgment and sentence to be passed on him or for political reasons.
As a politician myself, I can confirm that this unfortunate assumption is furthest from the truth.
Evidence in Najib’s favour
As a lawyer who was asked to assist Najib in this matter, I have seen materials and the papers to state categorically that the fresh evidence that he was seeking to admit would have had a nuclear effect on the issue of Justice Datuk Nazlan Ghazali’s conflict of interest and apparent bias in being the trial Judge who passed judgment and sentence on Najib.
I regret that despite the best efforts of lead counsel, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, and the lawyers in my team both from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, we have not been able to dispel this sad misconception.
The fact that Najib may have just been seeking justice appears to have been uncharitably disregarded.
The decision for me and my firm to accept this brief rested primarily on our view that Najib’s case called for a new approach and fresh perspectives. It also required him to abandon unnecessarily vitriolic matters and personal attacks on Justice Nazlan who had presided over the trial.
Instead, we were intent on focusing strictly on the legal and factual issues surrounding the case, concentrating especially on the issues of bias and conflict of interests.
We believe from an objective analysis of the facts of the case that the evidence was overwhelmingly in Najib’s favour.
In order to ensure that the application to adduce fresh evidence was properly and strongly put forward before the Court, I consulted my friend and colleague in Singapore, Niru Pillai of Niru & Co LLC.
I know that Niru can bring added value and would be a very good architect to bring completely different perspectives to any difficult cases. Niru put together a team in his firm to assist ZIST.
He also then reached out to take independent advice from leading counsel in criminal law and in the current situation facing the application to adduce the fresh evidence and the appeals.
‘Painstakingly perused documents’
Given Niru’s vast network of professional relationships in India with leading lights and doyens in the Indian legal profession, Niru sought out two very established leading senior advocates, Sidharth Luthra and Kavin Gulati.
Niru officially briefed them and the Indian legal team was put together with Rony John and Avi Tandon assisting.
In my view, this was a great team and I can confirm that Najib was extremely pleased with its work.
We believed that the application was well founded and was very compelling. Unfortunately, the Court in its wisdom did not think so. The application was not allowed.
Even Najib’s request for a short adjournment to enable our legal team to properly get up the case – and for counsel to adequately prepare his submissions and arguments for what is clearly an extremely complex and high-profile case – was denied outright.
In the short four weeks since we were engaged, we have painstakingly perused the relevant appeal records, reviewed substantial affidavits, carried out extensive research on the law, prepared the final response affidavits and filed extensive written submissions.
This was a monumental and herculean task on its own given the short period within which we had to be ready because the Court refused to even adjourn the applications, let alone the appeals.
We had even prepared a fresh motion to seek a review of the Federal Court’s decision to deny Najib’s application to adduce fresh evidence. This has not been filed. – Aug 19, 2022
Former de facto law minister, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is partner at law firm Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners (ZIST)
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main pic credit: The Star
