alaysia’s ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak is now the first ex-PM of Malaysia to go to jail after he failed to recuse the Chief Justice from the SRC appeal today. 

This is a historic day for Malaysia where a former DPM, Anwar Ibrahim, was jailed in 1998. Najib is to start serving his 12-year sentencing today.

Before the news of Najib going to jail, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat today said that the apex court is prepared to deliver its verdict in Najib Abdul Razak’s main SRC appeal.

Najib was fighting for his freedom from the SRC International case, and it was his very last appeal to the Apex court to set him free.

The CJ however spoke after the ex-PM of Malaysia failed in his bid to recuse her from hearing his SRC appeal.

Najib’s lawyer filed an application to recuse the CJ from the appeal this morning. The reason given in the application is that the husband of the CJ had, in 2018, posted a Facebook comment celebrating Najib’s downfall in the general elections.

In reply to the application, Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat ruled that there is no nexus between her husband’s 2018 Facebook post and that of the former finance minister’s appeal.

She notes that the Facebook post was put up before Najib was ever charged at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

This was Najib’s last bid to stay away from jail after he managed to push the appeal process to the limit.

After his failed bid to recuse the CJ, Najib asked whether he can address the panel of judges.

As he addressed the apex court, he reiterated that he needed more time for his lawyers to represent him in the SRC appeal.

“This, I must repeat, leaves me with no counsel and I don’t know what to do. If given time of at least two months, I am confident I can assemble a team to adequately represent me – perhaps with a combination of my previous counsel (Shaffee Abdullah) and (defence counsel) Hisyam Teh Poh Teik in a consolidated team.

“In that proposed combination perhaps Hisyam can be brought up to speed by Shafee & Co to be able to understand the case within two months.

“Yang Amat Arif, on Monday, Hisyam said a hearing is like a contest. But right now, it seems like I’m put out of the contest, a contest that affects my liberty. I feel this is not cricket at all as there is total unfairness executed on me,” Najib claims in his plea for more time.

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