NAJIB TRIAL | Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali issued a succinct yet stern reminder to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today to refrain from uploading any more online posts that may constitute contempt of court.
"Any further public posting risks contempt," the judge said today during the hearing for Najib’s trial involving RM42 million from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International.
The judge issued the warning after scheduling to hear submissions from all parties on Monday next week regarding Attorney-General Tommy Thomas' application for a full and unconditional apology from the former prime minister.
The prosecution is seeking the apology from Najib over his Facebook post regarding the testimony on the more than RM3 million allegedly spent using two credit cards linked to the former prime minister.
Earlier this afternoon, lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the judge that he sought a Monday hearing date as he and his client Najib needed to discuss how to prepare a full submission to counter the prosecution's bid.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas then informed the court that the prosecution would still seek an undertaking from the accused that he would not publish any further posts until Monday.
However, Shafee protested, saying that it would go against the freedom of speech.
Shafee also assured the court that his client would be more wary of publishing any online posts that potentially constituted sub judice.
He also said that Najib had written the Facebook post in question due to the “selective reporting” on the case by the media.
“I was told by my client that his main reason for making the (FB) statement was because the press had not reported (matters) fully. The press had been cherry-picking selective reporting,” Shafee argued.
He claimed there were at least a hundred examples of this “selective reporting”, whereby news stories allegedly focused too much on the testimony regarding the more than RM3 million spent using two credit cards linked to Najib.
Shafee claimed that, at the same time, media reports had downplayed or left out other testimonies, such as how then Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz was informed that Najib would be receiving donations from overseas, among others.
“Nothing came out about that (Zeti being informed about the incoming foreign donation to Najib), zero. Instead, the jewellery purchases (linked to the) credit cards came out,” Shafee said.
The lawyer also said that if Najib had waited two months before making the online posting about the credit card spending, then the Pekan MP and Umno advisory chairperson would “not survive”, especially with the media being “completely prejudiced, blind, and not looking at the other side”.
No absolute freedom of speech
Thomas then stood up and clarified that the prosecution is not seeking to cite Najib for contempt over sub judice statements, but rather, for the accused to apologise for his Facebook post.
The attorney-general emphasised that freedom of speech is not absolute in any country, including Malaysia, and that there must be a balance between freedom of speech and expression with ongoing proceedings.
“The accused being a politician is something that really does not matter in this case. We say that he is just another accused.
“Being the accused, he has the last word, so he must allow the prosecution’s version to unfold first (during prosecution stage of trial).
“There is no use criticising the media, as it is our version that the press is reporting. If the defence goes to the stand, he (Najib) can offer his version.
“Until then, we do not wish him to talk about it (potentially sub judice matters), and that the only acceptable conduct is for (Najib) to stand up in court and say that ‘I would not make any further statement (online) until Monday’,” said Thomas.
Justice Mohd Nazlan then issued the stern reminder to Najib, and reminded both parties that the hearing on Monday would not last more than an hour.
Earlier in the morning today, Thomas applied to the court for Najib Abdul Razak to issue a full and unconditional apology over the accused's Facebook post, claiming that the action amounted to sub judice, and should be treated like any other accused.
On July 15, AmBank employee Yeoh Eng Leong testified that two credit cards in the former premier's name had been charged RM3.36 million in 10 transactions on the same day at an Italian outlet of jeweller De Grisogono in 2014.
Najib had subsequently written a Facebook post defending the credit card spending, saying the funds were used to purchase “gifts” for the royalty of another country.
"We seek a full and unconditional apology from the accused and on what he had done, as well as an undertaking from the accused not to repeat what he had done," Thomas says.
Najib’s counsel Harvinderjit Singh was then granted a brief adjournment to seek instruction from his client as well as Shafee on the matter. - Mkini
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