The Federal Court has dismissed former prime minister Najib Razak’s bid to disqualify Gopal Sri Ram as lead prosecutor in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd cases.
A three-member panel headed by judge Zawawi Salleh held that Najib’s appeal did not meet the legal requirements under the Courts of Judicature Act.
“The leave questions proposed by both applicants had previously been decided in Anwar Ibrahim’s case,” he said, alluding to Anwar’s previous court action to remove Shafee in his Sodomy II appeal.
“As the law is settled, there is no reason to depart from that.”
The court made no order to cost.
The other Federal Court judges who sat with Zawawi were Vernon Ong and Nallini Pathmanathan.
Najib filed the judicial review application to disqualify Sri Ram as the senior DPP in his 1MDB-linked cases in December 2018.
On August 28 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court had ruled that the appointment of Sri Ram was valid.
Then in November last year, the Court of Appeal also dismissed Najib’s application on the grounds that Sri Ram is more than qualified as a fit and proper person to be appointed as senior DPP.
Najib is facing a plethora of charges in relation to 1MDB and the 1MDB audit report, along with the trial involving the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and another three money laundering charges in relation to SRC International Sdn Bhd.
Najib has already been convicted and sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering in relation to RM42 million SRC funds. – TMI