KUALA LUMPUR – The Court of Appeal has fixed August 20 to hear Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s appeal to recuse judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah from presiding over the ongoing RM2.27-billion 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption trial.
The appellate court has scheduled July 19 for submissions, August 5 for counter-submissions, if any, and August 6 for case management.
Najib had applied to recuse Sequerah from hearing the case on August 14 last year after the judge disclosed that he and Jasmine Loo, the former general counsel of 1MDB, had been partners in a law firm approximately 10 to 15 years ago while he was still a practising lawyer.
This was disclosed during the 1MDB trial on July 26 of the same year, when Najib’s lead defence counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, asked whether Loo would be called to testify as a prosecution witness or offered as a defence witness.
However, Najib’s bid to recuse Sequerah failed, as the judge dismissed his application on August 18, stating that he had not communicated with Loo since she left the firm in 2008.
In his ruling, Sequerah stated that no evidence had been presented to the court demonstrating any form of relationship, whether professional or personal, between him and Loo.
He further noted that Najib had failed to prove that there was a real danger of bias if he were to continue presiding over the trial.
He also said that there was no inkling, nor was there an iota of evidence, to even form any basis upon which any form of relationship could possibly be conjured.
Sequerah, who was a high court judge at the start of the 1MDB trial, was elevated to the Court of Appeal on January 17 last year.
He continued to hear the case until today, following the Court of Appeal’s dismissal on August 25 of Najib’s application to postpone the 1MDB trial proceedings, citing no special circumstances to justify a postponement.
The appellate court also ruled that public interest demanded the case proceed and that there was no compelling reason to grant a stay, as the trial was at an advanced stage.
Meanwhile, Loo testified as the 50th prosecution witness in the case since she returned to the country in July last year.
Najib, 70, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain an alleged RM2.3-billion bribe from 1MDB funds, as well as 21 charges of money laundering involving the same funds. – April 16, 2024