Legal disciplinary board clears Zaid Ibrahim, partners of misconduct in Najib’s last SRC appeal

Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — Former minister Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim today declared that he has been cleared of any ethical misconduct in relation to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2022 final appeal at the Federal Court against his SRC International conviction.

Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), Zaid said the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board panel, led by former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Rohana Yusufvi, had found him, Liew Teck Huat and Rueben Mathiavaranam of the law firm Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners, not guilty of any breaches of the Legal Profession Act as alleged by Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah.

“The complaint stemmed from our decision to seek the court’s permission for an adjournment of the trial to allow the new lead counsel time to be ready for the case.

“At last, the assembly of reasonable men and women made the right decision that we were not to be faulted for doing the best for the client,” he posted this morning.

In a press statement published on the Malaysian Bar website, Cheah accused Zaid and the other two lawyers of acting unprofessionally when the Federal Court was hearing Najib’s appeal to set aside his SRC International conviction and sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment and a fine of RM210 million, on August 19, two years ago.

In her public censure, Cheah claimed the trio’s conduct amounted to an abuse of the judicial process and brought the system into disrepute, and the lawyers involved should face disciplinary action.

Najib had appointed Zaid’s law firm on July 25, 2022 to replace Shafee & Co which had been representing him in his RM42 million SRC International case.

At that stage, Najib had also replaced his regular lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah from the law firm Shafee & Co with Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik of the legal firm Teh Poh Teik & Co.

Najib abruptly dropped the three lawyers from Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners after the Federal Court refused their request for more time to prepare for the appeal.

Najib lost this appeal on August 23, 2022 when the Federal Court unanimously upheld the High Court’s decision to convict him on all seven charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, as well as the sentence of 12 years imprisonment and a fine of RM210 million.