KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — The judge in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s cases cannot be considered to have conflict of interest just because he has a family member who is an Umno member serving in the Pahang government, lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said today.
Haniff said judges presiding over either civil or criminal cases would only be considered to be “in conflict of interest” if they had direct ties with the accused or parties involved in the legal dispute, based on the principle of natural justice.
“To me, unless it can be shown there is basis to conclude otherwise, then a judge having family ties with someone who has a position in the Pahang state government and is from the party Umno, by itself cannot be grounds to conclude that the judge is indeed directly in conflict of interest,” he said in a statement.
Haniff was commenting on a news report that highlighted High Court judge Datuk Mohd Sofian Abd Razak, who presides over Najib’s case, being the brother of Umno’s Datuk Seri Mohd Soffi Abd Razak, with the latter named as a five-term state assemblyman in Pahang and a four-term state executive council member.
Haniff pointed out the high probability that judges in Malaysia could have family members who are in Umno, owing to the former ruling party’s alleged huge membership.
The lawyer, who has represented high profile clients and frequently issues statements on matters of public interest, said with Umno claiming to have around three million members, the ratio of Umno members to Malaysians would be 1:10.
“Therefore, the issue is not about the family ties alone, even if with Umno members with positions, but the real issue in terms of law is: Is there any other factors that can help conclude that there is an understanding between the judge and the relative to act unfairly in the proceedings of Najib Razak’s trial?” he said.
Haniff further pointed out that any parties in a court dispute are free in law to formally apply in court for a judge to be removed from a court case, if they were not confident with the “sanctity” of a judge’s position in the court matter.
He suggested that the Attorney-General’s Chambers, which is conducting Najib’s prosecution, to further study this matter, and to take any action allowed under the law only after a complete and detailed study.
The Malaysian Bar today said Mohd Sofian’s failure yesterday to disclose his family ties had raised serious questions over whether it was proper for him to continue presiding over Najib’s cases, adding that it will be in the interests of justice for the judge to remove himself from further hearing the former prime minister’s case.
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. The trial date has yet to be fixed.
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.
