LAWYER Gopal Sri Ram did not mention what he meant by evidence in the public domain against Najib Razak when he allegedly coaxed former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali to arrest the then former prime minister in early 2018.

In an affidavit-in-reply filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court registry on Friday, Apandi said at a meeting in his house in January that year, Sri Ram said it was “plainly” Apandi’s duty to have Najib arrested and charged based on publicly available evidence.

“Sri Ram never explained what is evidence in the public domain,” Apandi said

Apandi said Sri Ram used the term “public domain” loosely in his affidavit as he “dared not enter in the real subject of our conversation that fateful day”. 

He said Sri Ram coaxed him to arrest Najib, adding that the latter admitted to being sent by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.  

Apandi said he was removed as attorney-general on June 4, 2018 for not abiding to the request.   

The affidavit, in which Apandi said Sri Ram visited him and urged him to act against Najib, is used in judicial review applications by the former prime minister and his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Adullah, who are challenging the legality of Sri Ram’s appointment as prosecutor in their respective criminal cases.

Najib and Shafee are arguing that their cases smacked of political persecution and are tainted by prosecutorial misconduct and bias. 

In the affidavit filed on Tuesday, Sri Ram said he did indeed visit Apandi at his home but said the main purpose was regarding another legal matter.

“In the course of the conversation, I advised Apandi that it appeared there was evidence in the public domain against Najib and that it was plainly his duty to have Najib arrested and charged,” said Sri Ram, who further denied that Dr Mahathir instructed him to meet Apandi.

Najib faces 42 charges spread over five criminal trials, three of which are ongoing.

Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge, is the lead prosecutor in the former prime minister’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd trial.

The 76-year-old also heads the prosecution in Najib and former 1MDB chief executive Arul Kanda Kandasamy’s joint trial over the tampering of the state investor’s audit report, the graft trial of Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, and Shafee’s money-laundering trial.

Sri Ram, in his affidavit, said it was ultimately up to the court to decide Najib’s fate based on the evidence in each case.

Apandi was a Federal Court justice before he was appointed attorney-general in July 2015 following Abdul Gani Patail’s termination.

In January 2018, he cleared Najib of wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal. The 70-year-old was removed from the post after the Barisan Nasional government fell in the general election the same year.

When testifying in the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial in March, Apandi defended his decision not to pursue charges against Najib in 2016 over the alleged RM2.6 billion donation from the Saudi royal family and misappropriation of RM42 million in the entity’s funds.

Supporting affidavit

Meanwhile, Apandi’s wife, Faridah Begum, has also filed an affidavit to support her husband that Sri Ram mentioned about being sent by Dr Mahathir to convince the then attorney-general to arrest Najib.

Faridah, 52, who described Sri Ram as a family friend in her affidavit filed last Friday, said Sri Ram visited their home in January that year with the purpose of requesting to unfreeze the bank account belonging to a law firm.

“(Sri Ram) started off by saying he was using that as an excuse to see Tan Sri Apandi and that he actually had a bigger agenda to discuss,” said Faridah.

Present at the meeting was Sri Ram’s associate, lawyer JR Tey.

“Out of the blue, in the presence of myself, Tan Sri Apandi and JR Tey, Sri Ram said, ‘Tun M (Dr Mahathir) sent me to see you’, which came as a shock to both Tan Sri Apandi and I.

“Sri Ram then continued and said, ‘He wants you to arrest Najib. That is what you do. We have arranged everything. You go tomorrow at 2pm, we have arranged for the police in Putrajaya to do what is necessary on your instructions.

“Tan Sri Apandi then asked Sri Ram on what charge should Datuk Seri Najib be arrested for, at which Sri Ram replied ‘look, it doesn’t matter what you arrest him for. The people are angry and frustrated. Just arresting him will make them happy. Leave the rest to me’.”

She also said Sri Ram reminded Apandi to think about it and to get back to him.

Faridah’s account mirrors that of Apandi’s made in his affidavit and a Facebook post early last month.

In her affidavit, filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court registry, Faridah also described the close relationship Sri Ram has with her family, and recounted his visits to her family’s shop at Ampang Park, vegetarian dinners at their home with her parents and family. – July 13, 2020.