Bossku seeking refuge behind UN skirts...

Bossku seeking refuge behind UN skirts....

Najib vs Malaysia - Govt hauled

to UN over ‘arbitrary detention’...

The adage that desperate times call for desperate measures has taken a totally different meaning. In some circumstances, actions that may not be acceptable under certain circumstances may become the best choice. But former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s latest measure beats them all. He is hauling Malaysia to an arm of the United Nations (UN) over what he terms arbitrary detention.

His lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told a media briefing yesterday that the petition was filed digitally at the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) often referred to as the Working Group. Shafee said they filed the petition to get the Working Group to ask Malaysia for a release or retrial of Najib in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.

Najib is seeking the UN body’s panel of five experts on international justice to rule that the Malaysian apex court’s dismissal of his appeal was “unjust, flawed and violated his basic human rights and the Federal Constitution”.

To describe the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal court - which found Najib guilty - as such is an affront to our judiciary. To describe the decision to jail Najib as “unjust, flawed and violated his basic human rights and the Federal Constitution” adds insult to injury.

Shafee’s claim that Najib had been sent to jail without the opportunity to defend himself is far from the truth. The numerous media reports on the procedures and events in the Federal Court leading him to be incarcerated in prison are in the public domain. It is a fallacy that Najib was not given a fair trial and neither was he arbitrarily detained. He was found guilty of grand larceny by three different courts at different levels and the petition itself is a non-starter.

Shafee claimed that the Federal Court did not give Najib’s lawyers sufficient time to prepare for the appeal by allowing an adjournment of the appeal hearing. But this is only half the story. But didn’t Najib bring it on himself? Was it not Najib who dropped Shafee and brought in a new set of lawyers at the last minute?

Singing the same old song...

Enough has been said and written about lawyers’ duties to their clients and their etiquette in accepting briefs and when appearing before our judges. Why then is Najib singing the same old song about his lawyers not being given time?

Said Shafee: “In essence, Najib had been sent to jail without the opportunity to defend himself at the Federal Court.” Was it the fault of the Federal Court that Najib’s new set of lawyers appeared and sought a last-minute postponement?

Shafee said they filed the petition to get UNWGAD to ask Malaysia for a release or retrial of Najib in the SRC case. As the title suggests, UNWGAD is mandated to receive and verify information from a variety of sources, in order to investigate cases of detention imposed arbitrarily.

Its work is in tandem with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 9(1) states, “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.”

But this is certainly not a case of arbitrary detention and Najib was jailed in accordance with procedures. It won’t be wrong that the petition will be binned. If so, why all the trouble? It must be noted that UNWGAD is not an appellate court where it can hear cases. Besides, any finding made is not enforceable. So, why this hullabaloo?

Is it because Najib wants to remain in the news? Or is it a pre-emptive move before his application to review the judicial verdict which is set to come up for hearing before a new quorum of the Federal Court in Putrajaya on Jan 19? Like all Malaysians who want to see justice done, we can only speculate and perhaps, expect a different turn of events in two weeks’ time. - R.Nadeswaran,mk

Meanwhile, The United Nations (UN) has no authority to force Malaysian courts to release former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak from serving his 12-year jail sentence, according to law experts. Veteran lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla told Malaysiakini that the international body abides by the policy of non-interference in the affairs of any sovereign states.

Constitutional expert Nizam Bashir said that the former premier’s chances of success in the UN petition are slim. “To my mind, the UN body would not be inclined to inquire into the petition as a final decision has been arrived at by our domestic courts in conformity with domestic law.

“Consequently, let’s not waste more ink or time on ‘what ifs’ where the UN body is concerned on this issue,” Nizam said, adding that Najib still has a remedy via the upcoming review before the Federal Court in Putrajaya.

Another long-time legal practitioner for over 30 years, Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar, opined that the petition with the UN body is not likely to succeed as Najib has been granted enough opportunity to defend himself since he was first charged for the SRC case in 2018.

The counsel said that UNWGAD would not only peruse the petition by Najib but would also seek an official response from Malaysia’s Attorney-General’s Chambers regarding the former premier’s allegations. - mk