PUTRAJAYA (April 27): Jailed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has withdrawn his appeal to institute contempt proceedings against former attorney general and present Federal Court judge Tan Sri Ahmad Terriruddin Mohd Salleh.

Najib, who is serving his prison sentence at the Kajang prison since Aug 22, 2022, after being found guilty over SRC International Sdn Bhd, is also withdrawing his appeal over December’s High Court decision that dismissed his application to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

The reversal of his decision was communicated through two withdrawal letters, dated late last month and earlier this month, respectively.

A file search by The Edge uncovered a letter from Messrs Shafee & Co, dated April 3, stating Najib is discontinuing his appeal against all respondents without liberty to file afresh.

The Court of Appeal in a letter dated April 6, also sighted by The Edge, noted the withdrawal and subsequently vacated a case management hearing originally scheduled for last Friday (April 24).

Earlier, on March 31, Messrs Shafee on behalf of Najib withdrew his appeal over the High Court’s decision not to institute committal proceedings against Ahmad Terriruddin. 

The Court of Appeal acknowledged in receiving the letter on April 9, and the senior assistant registrar struck out the appeal.

Several sources from the Attorney General Chambers have confirmed the withdrawal of the appeals with The Edge.

“Yes the appeals had been withdrawn. All cases have been withdrawn,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

The Edge has tried to contact Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, on the matter, but has so far received no reply.

Najib had named Ahmad Teriruddin, the commissioner-general of the Prisons Department, the Attorney General, the Federal Territory Pardons Board, the Prime Minister’s Department for Law and Institutional Reform, the director general of the Legal Affairs Prime Minister’s office and the Government as respondents in a judicial review application filed on April 1, 2024.

Although the High Court denied the leave for judicial review, Najib was successful in obtaining leave at the Court of Appeal in the middle of last year, and the Federal Court dismissed the Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar’s leave to appeal to the Federal Court.

Following that, High Court judge Alice Loke Yee Ching heard the merits of Najib’s judicial review.

She first dismissed Najib’s bid to cite Ahmad Terriruddin for contempt in September and on Dec 22, dismissed the former PM’s bid to serve the remaining jail sentence for SRC International under house arrest.

Subsequently, Najib’s lawyers filed appeals against both decisions before the withdrawals were made.

On Dec 26, four days after Loke’s decision to dismiss Najib’s judicial review application, the High Court had found Najib guilty on all 25 counts including four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering with regard to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds worth RM2.27 billion.

As a result of this, Najib was sentenced by Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, now a Federal Court judge sitting at the High Court, with another 15 years jail and a whopping RM11.38 billion fine by the court.

Sequerah in finding Najib guilty said any attempt to portray the former prime minister as ignorant of wrongdoing surrounding 1MDB “failed miserably”, given his background and the warnings he had received.

The judge also noted that Najib had not lodged any report with law enforcement authorities regarding the alleged embezzlement of 1MDB funds.

“Such an omission can only reasonably be construed as an act of condonation on the part of the accused, who at material time wielded considerable powers as both finance minister, chairman of the board of advisers and prime minister.

Najib’s 1MDB sentence is to run concurrently after he finishes his SRC International jail term in August 2028.

He is appealing the conviction and sentence to the 1MDB case, and it is pending at the Court of Appeal.

On March 31 this year, judge Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidon at the KL High Court found the former prime minister liable to pay US$1.18 billion (RM4.77 billion) for losses suffered by the government-owned company.

Ahmad Fairuz, now a Court of Appeal judge, found Najib liable for breaching his fiduciary duty and committing misfeasance in public office. He must also repay a separate US$120 million that ended up in his private bank account.

The totality of the evidence “tips overwhelmingly in favour of SRC’s version” relying on documentary records, and fund flows as well as Najib’s own admissions, Ahmad Fairuz said.

Ahmad Fairuz highlighted Najib’s “distinct and contradictory” narratives during the trial to deny receipt of the US$120 million. Najib began with “bare denial” and claimed he did not undertake the transactions and that the money entering his account was unknown to him.

Read also:
Najib to continue contempt bid against ex-AG Terrirudin
Najib fails in bid to cite ex-AG Terrirudin for contempt over ‘addendum order
Najib loses bid to serve rest of jail term under house arrest
Najib guilty on all 25 charges in 1MDB trial
High Court: Najib must repay US$1.3 billion to SRC as other directors cleared