Najib withdraws appeal for Judge Sequerah’s recusal

PUTRAJAYA: Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today withdrew his appeal to recuse Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah from presiding over his ongoing 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial.

Following that, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal led by Judge Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali struck out the appeal.

"After hearing the lawyer's arguments and reasons for withdrawing the appeal and with no objection from the deputy public prosecutor, the appellant's appeal is struck out.

"However, the issue of the judge's recusal can be raised in the main appeal (main appeal) if necessary," said Judge Che Ruzima sitting with Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk Azman Abdullah.

Earlier, lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, representing Najib told the court that he had received instructions from his client to withdraw the appeal today.

"This is because 1MDB senior lawyer Jasmine Loo Ai Swan had testified...Therefore, we withdraw the appeal without prejudice to our right to raise the issue (to recuse Judge Sequerah) in the main appeal if necessary, " said the lawyer.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kamal Bahrin Omar said the prosecution had no objection and agreed with the conditions stated by the lawyer.

The appeal by Najib was over the decision of the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Aug 18 last year in dismissing his application to recuse Justice Sequerah from hearing his 1MDB case.

The former Pekan member of Parliament applied to remove Sequerah from the trial after the judge disclosed that he and former IMDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan had been partners in a law firm.

In dismissing Najib's application to recuse him, Justice Sequerah ruled that since Loo left the legal firm in December 2008, there has been no communication either on a professional or personal basis between them.

Loo had testified in the ongoing trial as the prosecution's 50th witness.

Najib, 71, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes amounting to RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.

-- BERNAMA

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