Ahead of Najib’s legal bid to disqualify him, which is set for hearing before the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 13, the former Federal Court judge dismissed allegations that he was to influence Apandi and had been sent by Dr Mahathir.
Denying Apandi’s allegations, Gopal Sri Ram says:
Not acting on Dr Mahathir’s instruction when visiting Apandi’s home
Not a political appointee to prosecute Najib in his criminal hearings
Closeness of Apandi’s allegations to the date fixed for the continuation of the audit trial confirms this was an effort to abort that trial at any cost
Never had a discussion with Apandi to unfreeze the bank accounts of an unnamed law firm
Former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram has refuted former attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s allegation that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad tried to have Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrested in 2018.
Sri Ram, in an affidavit filed at the Kuala Lumpur court registry yesterday, said he was not acting on Dr Mahathir’s instruction when visiting the former attorney-general’s home in January that year.
The lead prosecutor in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption trial involving the former premier denied he was a political appointee to prosecute Najib in his criminal hearings.
Apandi made the claim in a June 12 affidavit following similar allegations posted on Facebook on June 10 and in an interview with the TwentyTwo13 website the following day.
Bernama
In the course of his conversation, Sri Ram said, he had advised Apandi that there was evidence in the public domain against Najib, and that it was his duty to have the former prime minister arrested and charged.
“At no time during our conversation did I ever mention that I was sent by Dr Mahathir.
“The account of the conversation given by Apandi in Paragraphs 10, 11, 12 and 13 is not correct. Such conversation did not take place,” Sri Ram said in the court filing.
Seth Akmal/TMI
“The closeness of the Facebook post and interview to the date fixed for the continuation of the trial of the audit case confirms that this is an effort to abort that trial at any cost.
“This is born out of the application made by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the counsel for Najib, on the first day of the continued hearing to postpone the trial of the audit case until the application herein is disposed of.”
Apandi, who filed an affidavit in support of Najib’s application, had said Sri Ram was prejudiced and biased against the former prime minister.
Najib faces 42 charges spread over five criminal trials, three of which are ongoing.
Sri Ram also heads the prosecution in former 1MDB chief executive Arul Kanda Kandasamy’s joint trial over the tampering of the state investor’s audit report, the graft trial of Najib’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and Shafee’s money-laundering trial.
“I attended to Apandi and Puan Sri Faridah at their home in a purely professional capacity. JR Tey (a lawyer) was in attendance with me,” Sri Ram said.
“During the meeting at their home, I rendered some advice that is the subject matter of legal professional privilege. I am therefore unable to reveal the same.”
Apandi said in his affidavit that he communicated with Sri Ram via WhatsApp after Pakatan Harapan came to power in May 2018 and added that Sri Ram who was then senior deputy public prosecutor in Najib’s 1MDB case, had a “clear mission of bias” against the Pekan MP.
However, Sri Ram claimed the reverse was true as Apandi was appointed A-G by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Najib’s advice when the latter was prime minister.
Apandi was a Federal Court justice before he was appointed attorney-general in July 2015 following Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s termination.
In January 2018, he cleared Najib of wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal. The 70-year-old was removed from the post after the Barisan Nasional government fell in the general election the same year.
When testifying in the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial, Apandi defended his decision not to pursue charges against Najib in 2016 over the alleged RM2.6 billion donation from the Saudi royal family and misappropriation of RM42 million in the entity’s funds.
He also denied his involvement in a cover-up to protect Najib, reiterating that there is a lack of evidence of wrongdoing.
“Ultimately, it is for this Honourable Court to adjudge the guilt or innocence of the accused based on the evidence in each of those cases,” Sri Ram said.
He added there was never a discussion with Apandi to unfreeze the bank accounts of an unnamed law firm, as claimed by Apandi
Najib’s legal bid to disqualify Sri Ram is set for hearing before the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 13.
Previously, the High Court dismissed Najib’s application for leave to commence judicial review to challenge Sri Ram’s appointment as the DPP in the 1MDB-linked cases.
However, the Court of Appeal granted leave to Najib to proceed with the legal bid. This was further upheld by the Federal Court which remitted the matter back down to the High Court.
Even before this current, ongoing disqualification bid by Najib in the civil jurisdiction of the judiciary, the former premier had filed a similar bid in the criminal jurisdiction of the court.
However, that attempt was rejected by the Federal Court in August last year.
