Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has criticised the Court of Appeal for describing Najib's actions in the SRC International case as a national embarrassment.

"You can say our defence of national interest did not succeed, that's the end. But to go further and say it was a national embarrassment is unnecessary because it can cause some serious element of perception on my client," he said.

When asked if the defence team and Najib can do anything on the judgement, Shafee said if the Federal Court accepts and rules in favour of Najib in his appeal, this part of the judgement could be expunged.