Nothing wrong with AG leading prosecution in case against Najib: Lawyers

KUALA LUMPUR: There is nothing wrong with the Attorney General Tommy Thomas acting as the lead prosecutor in former premier Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's case, say lawyers.
Lawyer Andrew Khoo explained that the prosecution team has to believe in the case that they were bringing to court.
"If the prosecution does not believe in its case, it has no business bringing the prosecution. It is the court and the judge that cannot make a prejudgment of the accused," he told theSun when contacted today.
Khoo was responding to Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah's claim that Tommy Thomas should not be the prosecutor for his client as apparently, he made a prejudgement on Najib.
He also added that Thomas can act as a prosecutor although he is the current AG.
Fortify Rights legal director Eric Paulsen echoed the same reasoning and said that Shafee has jumped the gun.
"At the end of the day, it's for Tommy Thomas and his team to prosecute with facts and evidence, and ultimately for the judge to decide. I don't see how he has prejudged the case as after all he is the AG, it is his constitutional role to decide, at his discretion, whether to prosecute or not (based on the investigations), and for the judge to decide," he told theSun.
Paulsen added while it is rare for the AG to act as a prosecutor in a case, it can happen like in the case of former AG Tan Sri Apandi Ali and Lim Guan Eng who was Penang's Chief Minister at the time.
He also raised the question if Shafee was fit to act as counsel for Najib as there were allegations that he had received RM9.8 million from 1MDB funds to prosecute Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"In fact, I think the spotlight should be on Shafee - whether he is fit to act as counsel for Najib, recalling the allegation that he received RM9.8 million in order to prosecute Anwar, allegedly coming from 1MDB funds."
Najib has been charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and one charge under the MACC Act over RM42 million linked to the SRC International Sdn Bhd scandal.