PUTRAJAYA, Jan 9 — The petition filed by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak before the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), in which he is seeking a release from prison or retrial of his SRC International Sdn Bhd case, does not affect the judiciary.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said Najib’s action was “entirely up to him” after the Federal Court had delivered its decision on Aug 23 last year.
“Our job is done. We have discharged our responsibilities in terms of deciding on the case. Whatever he wants to do, whatever avenue he wants to explore, that is beyond us,” she said at a press conference after speaking at the opening of the Legal Year 2023, here today.
Last week, the former prime minister, through Messrs Shafee & Co, filed the petition at the office of the High Commission of Geneva via digital submission.
Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client filed the petition to ask for a release or a retrial following an appeal hearing at the Federal Court which he claimed had serious defects and was contrary to the rules of international justice.
Najib is currently serving a 12-year jail term in Kajang Prison after he lost his final appeal in the Federal Court to set aside his conviction, jail sentence and a fine of RM210 million for misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International funds.