LIVE BLOG | The hearing of former premier Najib Abdul Razak's SRC International case is scheduled to commence this afternoon at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
He is accused of criminal breach of trust and money laundering in relation to funds belonging to the former 1MDB subsidiary.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas will be leading the team of 12 prosecutors while Najib's defence team consists of 11 members, led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Today's hearing will be presided over by Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- AG vows to prove Najib guilty of each charge
- AG fumes over late motions, says defence 'insulting intelligence'
- Prosecution and defence clash over bid to stay hearing
- Clare Rewcastle-Brown drops by Duta Court
- Lokman: It's selective prosecution
- Najib's supporters: 'We are part of him'
Malaysiakini brings you live reports below.
First witness takes the stand
3.25pm - The prosecution calls its first witness, a deputy registrar with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) Malaysia.
The witness, Muhamad Akmaludin Abdullah, 35, says his task includes providing information on companies and businesses to the public and government agencies.
Mohd Akmaludin testifies that he received a request from the MACC to run checks on records of three companies, namely SRC International, Gandingan Mentari and Ihsan Perdana.
He tells the court details of the companies as per SSM's record.
From source of cash to Chanel spree - AG vows to tell all
3.15pm - AG Tommy Thomas says the prosecution team will explain to the court how the accused engaged in money laundering by receiving RM27 million in his Ambank account on Dec 2014.
These monies were allegedly moved to other accounts, including that of several companies. Prosecutors will also tell the court of a Chanel shopping spree in Honolulu, house renovations and funding for various BN component parties.
AG fumes over late motions, says defence 'insulting intelligence'
2.50pm - Thomas argues the defence had ample time to challenge the charges against Najib.
He tells the court there is no reason for motions regarding the charges to be brought at the eleventh hour.
"This cannot go on. The defence is insulting intelligence. They had months to do this," he adds.
Defence counsels Harvinderjit Singh and Yusof then submit to the court their arguments for the trial to be stayed.
After listening to lengthy submissions from both Najib's defence counsels and the prosecution, Justice Nazlan rules that he will set another date for the application filed by the defence this morning.
Nazlan then orders for the trial to start.
Prosecution and defence clash over bid to stay hearing
2.10pm -The hearing starts with Thomas introducing members of the prosecution and Najib's defence counsels.
Thomas then tells Justice Nazlan that the prosecution is ready to proceed with their opening statement.
However, lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah rises and informs the court that the defence has filed a certificate of urgency this morning and requests that the court consider ordering a stay of the hearing.
Telling the court the defence will be challenging the validity of the charges brought against Najib, Shafee says he will let another defence counsel Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden explain why the matter should be addressed before the trial starts.
Thomas then tells the court that the prosecution will object to this.
Clare Rewcastle-Brown drops by Duta Court
2.10pm - Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown, who has researched and written extensively on the 1MDB affair, is at the Duta Court Complex.
She is hoping to hear first-hand how the prosecution lays out its case.
"You often get a lot of interesting information that maybe journalists were not aware of before," she says.
A surprise encounter with the Sarawak Report's editor, Clare Rewcastle-Brown.
See LIM LIP ENG's other Tweets
Lokman: It's selective prosecution
2.05pm - Umno supreme council member Lokman Noor Adam tells reporters that Najib is a victim of selective prosecution.
He claims Pakatan Harapan cannot pin anything concrete on the former premier after 11 months in power.
"I believe this is selective prosecution since the main witness Nik Faisal (Ariff Kamil Nik Othman Arif Kamil) who is in charge of the trust fund under Najib's name.
"He (Nik Faisal) knew that the money should be banked into this account since Najib was one of the guarantors for SRC International to obtain funding," he adds.
Nik Faisal is the former director of SRC International.
Lokman claims that authorities should have questioned Nik Faisal first but had not done so.
"They are charging Najib first and investigating later," he says.
He also claims that even if there was a case, it should be for cheating under the Penal Code and not under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 which is being applied now.
Najib enters dock
2pm - Najib enters the dock while Thomas and Shafee take their seats.
Najib's youngest son Norashman is in the public gallery. The former premier's wife Rosmah Mansor is not present.
New member of Najib's defence team
1.45pm - There's a surprise new member in Najib's defence team.
According to a press handout, former solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden will join 10 others on the defence team.
Yusof had previously served as lead prosecutor against PKR president Anwar Ibrahim in the Sodomy II trial before representing the latter over his involvement in the Bersih 3.0 rally.
Meanwhile, the list of prosecutors is as follows: Thomas, Sulaiman Abdullah, V Sithambaram, Manoj Kurup, Ishak Mohd Yusoff, Donald Joseph Franklin, Suhaimi Ibrahim, Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi, Sulaiman Kho Kheng Fuei, Budiman Lutfi Mohamed, Mohd Ashraf Adrin Kamaril and Muhammad Izzat Fauzan.
Najib's supporters: 'We are part of him'
1.25pm - So far, there are about 20 supporters of Najib at the lobby of the Duta Court Complex.
One man, who calls himself "Baha Taha", tells reporters that Najib "is the only right man to rule the country" and pledges to support the him "forever".
When reporters ask him how long he has been waiting outside the court complex, Baha Taha replies he will be there "permanently."
He expects "thousands" of supporters to turn up later.
"We are not supporters of Najib. We are part of him!" he adds. - Mkini
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