The Malaysian Insight

MUHAMMAD Shafee Abdullah is a top criminal lawyer. Has been for many years. 

He has acted for underworld figures; drug couriers facing the hangman’s noose; white collar criminals; politicians facing corruption charges and those facing murder charges. Today, he is representing Najib Razak, who faces a slew of money-laundering and criminal offences related to the  1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

In short, he has dealt with a conveyor belt of individuals facing criminal charges and has made a very successful and lucrative career defending them.

Sure, his detractors slam his lawyering skills and charge that he drops names in court and indulges in bombast outside court. But these are not mortal sins in the world of the litigator. 

In contrast, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas is a novice in the criminal bar. 

He made his name as a court lawyer in commercial disputes, or civil matters. Over the decades, he has also carved a name as a handy constitutional law expert.

But criminal law has never been his bread and butter. Perhaps that is the reason he has surrounded himself in Najib’s case with some of the brightest lights in the field such as Gopal Sri Ram and V. Sithambaram. 

So in effect, Shafee Abdullah should be confident going head-on with Thomas. He is taking on a less experienced adversary, and with home ground advantage.

Indeed, he has sneered at Thomas’ lack of criminal law experience on several occasions. The latest was after the AG delivered the opening statement in the government’s case against Najib for siphoning RM42 million from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.

Shafee said that the opening statement was not enlightening, adding that Thomas’ statement did not follow procedure under Section 179 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states that the prosecution has to spell out its case against the offender. 

Shafee also dismissed as rumours the allegations that Najib had used his credit card and 15 cheques to misappropriate SRC International funds. 

The former PM faces seven charges of allegedly stealing RM42 million from SRC when he was the PM and finance minister. 

Shafee said the charges against his client were defective. 

He told the press after Thomas made the opening speech that he is confident of winning the case.

But you only win cases by making your case in the courtroom.

And sadly, this is where Shafee and his team have proved deficient.

He should be chomping at the bit to get at the prosecution’s case against Najib and show up Thomas.

He should be raring to go and prove that the charges against Najib are defective and a mere collection of rumours.

Instead, Malaysians have been treated to such a festival of adjournments and applications to stay the trial that many people have forgotten what exactly is before the Federal Court today.

For someone who seems dismissive of his adversary’s legal nous and confident of his own ability to secure an acquittal for Najib, Shafee seems so, so reluctant to get the SRC trial under way.

Perhaps he knows that his client’s defence to the money-laundering and criminal breach of trust charges is brittle.

Perhaps smoke and mirrors is what Shafee does best.

All said and done, one has got to wonder why the champion of the criminal bar is so hesitant to duke it out with the criminal law novice. – April 5, 2019.