KUALA LUMPUR: Former minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim is of the opinion that Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s case hearing should not be “dragged to next year.”
Instead, he said the hearing should be held as soon as possible.
“To wait till February next year means the case will be hanging for half a year,” he said in his Twitter account today.
“This is odd… a torture to the accused and undermines the justice system,” he added.
Rais suggested that the prosecution team and defendant’s lawyers should apply to the court for an earlier hearing date.
Yesterday, former prime minister Najib, who is also the Pekan Member of Parliament, was slapped with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power for gratification involving RM42 million allegedly misappropriated when he was advisor at SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The court set Aug 8 for case management and Najib’s trial date for Feb 18, next year. — NST
Prosecution to seek early dates for Najib’s trial
THE prosecution intends to apply to the Kuala Lumpur High Court to fix dates as early as November this year for the trial of former prime minister Najib Razak.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers in a statement this evening said the application would be made on August 8, when case would mentioned in court.
The AGC also clarified that the High Court did not fix any trial dates during proceedings yesterday.
“The High Court only indicated when the possible dates for the trial could be, based on the learned High Court judge’s calendar.
“The High Court made it clear that the trial dates would only be fixed after the next mention in court, which is on August 8,” AGC said in the statement posted on its Twitter account.
Najib was charged yesterday with misusing his position as a government official to receive a RM42 million bribe as inducement to provide a sovereign guarantee on behalf of the Malaysian government for a RM4 billion loan from the Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) to SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The former leader, who fell from power after Barisan Nasional lost the May 9 general election, also faces three counts of criminal breach of trust in his capacity as prime minister, finance minister and SRC International adviser emeritus.
He claimed trial and has been released on a RM1 million bail.
The AGC said it was rare for trial dates to be fixed on the date of charge for complex and document-heavy white-collar crimes.
“…the prosecution is not expected to serve documents on that day also. The relevant documents will be served on the defence before the start of the trial.”
The AGC also said it would oppose the defence’s application to the High Court for an interim gag order on digital and print media to prevent them from discussing the merits of the case.
The AGC said the gag order permitted by Judge Sofian Abd Razak yesterday was interim in nature.
“A formal written application by the defence, supported by affidavits stating the exact nature and extent of the gag order, is fixed for hearing on August 8.
“The prosecution will oppose that application.”
Najib’s chief counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah argued during yesterday’s proceedings that the gag order was crucial to prevent statements that could affect his client’s case from being published.
He cited alleged incidents where his client had been subjected to a “trial by media”, even before yesterday’s court appearance.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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