KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — The High Court judge in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s two criminal cases should now remove himself from hearing them as he had failed to disclose his alleged family ties to a Pahang state official from Umno, the Malaysian Bar said today.

George Varughese, president of the Malaysian Bar, expressed concern over judge Datuk Mohd Sofian Abd Razak’s reportedly being the younger brother of Pahang state executive councillor and Benta state assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohd Soffi Abd Razak. The latter is reportedly from Umno.

George stressed that the rule of law demands that justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done, noting that Mohd Sofian should have revealed the matter in court yesterday where Najib had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

"Given that the former prime minister was until recently the president of Umno and chairman of the Barisan Nasional, the judge ought to have disclosed his relationship to his brother and the latter’s position in Umno and the Pahang state government to the prosecution and the defence prior to the hearing yesterday,” George said.

George said it was necessary for Mohd Sofian to make such a disclosure "to preserve the integrity of the proceedings before him and to avoid any real danger of bias”.

"The judge’s failure to do so has unfortunately raised serious questions about the propriety of him continuing to preside over the case.

"The Malaysian Bar is of the view that the interests of justice require the judge to recuse himself from further hearing this case,” said George, who heads the professional body representing all lawyers in peninsular Malaysia.

Yesterday, Najib, who is Pekan MP, pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to three counts of criminal breach of trust as a public servant and one count of abusing his position for self-gratification of RM42 million of funds belonging to a former 1Malaysia Development Berhad unit, SRC International Sdn Bhd.

The next case management date is August 8.

When asked yesterday outside the courtroom by reporters regarding the judge’s alleged ties, Attorney General Tommy Thomas responded: "Sorry, I never heard of it.”

"Sorry, I’m discovering that for the first time,” he had also said in response.

Earlier today, Malay Mail had contacted Mohd Soffi to seek a clarification but has yet to receive a response from the Pahang state exco member.

Malay Mail had also earlier emailed Thomas on whether there was any possible conflict of interest for Mohd Sofian to continue to preside over Najib’s cases.