Najib's lawyers choose not to present oral arguments at hearing

Former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak's lawyers opted not to make any oral arguments yesterday in their client's final appeal against his corruption conviction and jail sentence.

Mr Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, lead counsel in Najib's defence team, said that "he was in no position to take part in proceedings" to argue for his client, a move that Najib described as leaving him "in effect, without a defence counsel".

This unusual move came after Mr Hisyam earlier attempted, unsuccessfully, to discharge himself in front of a five-member bench at Malaysia's highest court.

He cited a lack of preparedness to start arguing his client's final appeal, which was scheduled to start yesterday and was supposed to last until Aug 26. Mr Hisyam was appointed as Najib's lead counsel only three weeks ago.

But the judges' panel chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat unanimously refused Mr Hisyam's eleventh-hour attempt to discharge himself, which would have left Najib unrepresented.

Mr Hisyam, who had yesterday morning made an unsuccessful bid to have the hearing postponed, opted not to submit any opening arguments to the court after being told to remain as Najib's lawyer.

This forced the judges to allow the prosecution to kick-start the appeal hearing by presenting their oral submissions, which usually takes place after the defence's opening arguments.

Should Najib's defence team persist in its stance for the rest of the hearing, the judges may only be able to rely on written submissions that were filed by Mr Hisyam's predecessor Muhammad Shafee Abdullah at the end of last year.

This will also likely cut short the length of the hearing for the appeal. Judges usually reserve their verdict for a future date.

Najib, 69, is in the Federal Court seeking to overturn his 2020 conviction and sentence in a case pertaining to RM42 million (S$13 million) he received illegally from SRC International, a former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) subsidiary.

He faces up to 12 years in prison and RM210 million (S$65 million) in fines. The Court of Appeal upheld his conviction in December last year.

He discharged his long-time lawyer Shafee last month, and appointed Zaid Ibrahim Suffian TH Liew and Partners (Zist). The firm applied to postpone the appeal dates in late July citing its recent appointment as Najib's counsel, but the bid was unsuccessful.

Mr Hisyam was subsequently appointed as Najib's lead counsel of a defence team that also includes Zist. He has repeatedly requested up to four months to prepare for the case, but the court has said that Najib choosing to change counsel at the eleventh hour should not come at the court's expense.

Mr Hisyam attempted to introduce new evidence when the final appeal started on Monday. When judges dismissed his motion, he applied for an adjournment, which the judges unanimously rejected.

Najib said in a statement yesterday that his decision to change his defence representation "was not to simply delay the court process".

He said that despite the "stellar" job by his previous legal team, he had lost both his first trial and subsequent appeal.

"It is with this backdrop I felt that a fresh perspective at the case to bring in new ideas was warranted and necessary for my final appeal before this court. This involves my life, nothing less."

The hearing for the final appeal resumes today.