NAJIB Razak will once again try to appoint Jonathan Laidlaw, a King’s Counsel, to represent him in the SRC International case if the Federal Court allows an application to review its previous decision to uphold his conviction, his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said today.

“Najib is still trying to appoint King’s Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw as his lawyer if his application to review the SRC International corruption case is allowed to be heard again,” he told the media.

“If the Federal Court grants a review application, then the defence team will need Laidlaw’s expertise for the case.”

He said there are two scenarios for Najib in his application to review the Federal Court ruling.

“One is that following the review application, there will be a new hearing or retrial, and the second one is a full acquittal,” he said.

The High Court had previously rejected Laidlaw’s application to appear for Najib in the SRC International appeal at the apex court.

High Court judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid on July 21, ruled Laidlaw did not satisfy the requirements for ad hoc admission under the Legal Profession Act 1976.

The Malaysian Bar had also objected to allowing Laidlaw to appear here, saying that there were enough local lawyers to handle the case.

Najib had sought to engage Laidlaw for his appeal, citing that no advocate and solicitor in Malaysia had the same degree of accomplishment as the senior British lawyer, who was then a Queen’s Counsel.

Laidlaw had filed a notice of appeal to the Federal Court over the High Court’s rejection of his application to represent Najib.

The notice was filed through Messrs Shafee & Co in August.

On August 23, the Federal Court quashed Najib’s appeal and upheld his sentence in the SRC International case.

The apex court ordered the former prime minister to begin his 12-year jail sentence immediately.

Najib also will have to pay a RM210 million fine, in default of which he will have to serve another five years.

The five-member apex court bench was chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The other bench members were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and senior judges P. Nallini, Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.

Within days of his appeal being rejected, Najib filed an application to review the Federal Court’s decision.

He also filed an application for pardon to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. – October 12, 2022.