The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving alleged abuse of power and laundering of 1MDB funds enters its eighth day at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Defence says will complete Amhari's cross-examination tomorrow
- Witness unsure if Najib aware of Jho Low's talking points for China trip
- Amhari received US$200,000 from Jho Low in 2011, not 2010
- Defence claims Amhari is being sued by Jasmine Loo, Jho Low's associate
- Amhari met Singaporean banker before she was jailed over 1MDB scandal
- Amhari admits he received pocket money from Jho Low during trips
- Shafee attempts to jog Amhari's memory on his arrest
- Photos of Amhari leading MACC officers to Jho Low's apartment
- Amhari led MACC to Jho Low's apartment last year
- Amhari arrested last year after coming back from a family holiday
- Transfer of TIA to federal gov't completed on Aug 12, 2009
- 'You kept quiet because you were close to Jho Low'
- Istana Negara rep raised suspicion on Jho Low's role during TIA meeting
- Civil servants understand that sometimes you don't talk - Amhari
- Shafee accuses Amhari of having "jaundiced" view on TIA meeting
- Court to break at 11.30am for Najib to see an eye specialist
Thank you for following Malaysiakini's live report
5.35pm - Thank you for following our live report today.
Defence says will complete Amhari's cross-examination tomorrow
5.30pm - The hearing is adjourned to 9.30am tomorrow as lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah tells judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah that he will need another two hours at most with the current witness.
Today is the fifth day where the former special officer to Najib Abdul Razak Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin is appearing in court to testify against the former premier.
Sequerah also tells Amhari to bring to court tomorrow a MACC search list which investigators gave him when they raided his house last year.
The document was requested by the defence for their cross-examination.
Witness unsure if Najib aware of Jho Low's talking points for China trip
4.30pm - Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin is unsure if the former prime minister was ever aware of the talking points that Jho Low allegedly prepared for the former's trip to China on June 28, 2016.
He says this during cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
According to Paragraph 168 of Amhari's written witness statement, Jho Low had prepared the talking points for Amhari's trip to China.
He was allegedly instructed by Najib's to travel to China and confirm economic cooperation between Malaysia and the People's Republic.
In the witness statement, Amhari said that Jho Low gave guidance to him on what to say during the meeting in China.
Amhari received US$200,000 from Jho Low in 2011, not 2010
3.45pm - A banking document produced in court establishes that Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, who is a former special officer to Najib Abdul Razak, had received US$200,000 from Jho Low on April 5, 2011, through a wire transfer into his Maybank account.
Previously, Amhari had testified that based on his memory, the money was transferred in 2010.
He says that he took the money from Jho Low (photo) as a "bridging loan" to settle his outstanding housing loan so he can buy a new house.
Amhari explains that the bridging loan was to allow him to buy a new house in Kota Damansara while trying to sell his older house.
He had planned to sell the house for RM700,000.
Defence claims Amhari is being sued by Jasmine Loo, Jho Low's associate
3.26pm - The Kuala Lumpur High Court hears that Najib Abdul Razak's former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin is allegedly being sued by Jasmine Loo, an associate of Jho Low, at the Virgin Islands court.
The former prime minister's lead defence counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah makes this claim by producing the purported cause papers during Amhari's cross-examination.
Shafee: Were you recently sued by Jasmine Loo?
Amhari: Not that I am aware.
Shafee: Are you sure? There is this Jasmine Loo Ai Swan who on July 29, 2019, filed (the suit) at 3.04pm at the Virgins Islands Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean. Have you seen this document?
Amhari: No.
Amhari met Singaporean banker before she was jailed over 1MDB scandal
3.15pm - Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin met with former BSI banker Yvonne Seah in Singapore just before she was jailed over suspicious monetary transactions linked to 1MDB.
Under cross-examination, Amhari testifies that he, Najib's then-chief private secretary Azlin Alias and wanted businessperson Jho Low met with Seah (photo, centre) at a hotel room in Singapore.
He says that Seah had brought a lot of documents for Azlin to sign and he merely followed suit to also sign documents.
Shafee: In regards to Aerosphere Limited, you must have signed all the incorporation documents or transfer documents. This lady, Seah, came to your hotel room when you were in Singapore with Azlin and Jho Low.
She brought a lot of documents. You must have signed some.
Amhari: Yes, I signed whatever Azlin signed.
Shafee: But Azlin signed a different account.
Amhari: Yes, but the officer (Seah) passed (me some documents to sign).
Shafee: I want you to provide the name. Is it Yvonne Seah Yew Foong?
Amhari: I just call her Yvonne.
On Dec 16, 2016, the media reported that Seah, 45, pleaded guilty to three of seven charges at a Singapore court, with one charge for failing to report suspicious transactions and two counts of forgery.
It was reported that Seah had managed Jho Low's account at the BSI Bank in Singapore.
Seah was jailed for two weeks and ordered to pay S$10,000 for failing to report a series of suspicious transactions where tens of millions came in and out of multiple accounts linked to Jho Low, among others.
Amhari admits he received pocket money from Jho Low during trips
3.10pm - Under cross-examination by the defence, Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin tells the court that 1MDB-linked businessperson Jho Low had previously given him money for travel expenses
This was apart from the US$200,000 which Low had allegedly loaned him in 2010.
According to the former special officer to Najib Abdul Razak, Jho Low had given him money for travel expenses during overseas trips, including trips when accompanying the then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak on official matters.
The money includes several thousand US dollars during an official trip with Najib to New York and another amount which Amhari said he could not recall during a trip to London.
Amhari says that there were other occasions where he had received money from Jho Low but could not remember all of them.
Jho Low was also "usually there" during the trips, the witness adds.
Amhari testifies that he is not aware of other officers receiving money from Low.
Earlier, he testifies that he cannot recall for which offence MACC had remanded him last year except that it definitely something to do with 1MDB.
Shafee attempts to jog Amhari's memory on his arrest
3pm - Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah makes reference to a search list dated June 27, 2018, in an attempt to jog Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin's memory on his arrest by MACC and the raid on Jho Low's apartment at 3, Jalan Kia Peng.
The lawyer used the Internet-sourced document during his cross-examination of Amhari.
Shafee: This search document is dated June 27, 2018. It does not mean the search (on Low's apartment) was on that date, it could be on the same day or earlier, right?
Amhari: Yes.
When Shafee asks Amhari the reason given by MACC said for his arrest, the witness says he only knows it was related to 1MDB and TIA rather than anything more specific.
Photos of Amhari leading MACC officers to Jho Low's apartment
2.45pm - Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah reviews in court several photographs downloaded from the Internet on the 2018 arrest of Najib Abdul Razak's former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin.
The 8th witness looks through photos of him leading MACC officers to an apartment at 3, Jalan Kia Peng in Kuala Lumpur.
He confirms photos of a whiteboard in the apartment as well as a safe which had been opened by MACC officers containing an undisclosed amount of money (the amount is not stated).
Earlier, Amhari had testified that Jho Low used a whiteboard to brief him on plans for TIA back in 2008.
Amhari led MACC to Jho Low's apartment last year
2.35pm - Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin tells the court that he was the one who led MACC investigators to an apartment located at 3, Jalan Kia Peng where Jho Low stayed and where he previously had meetings with the 1MDB-linked businessperson.
Amhari says he had disclosed to MACC that Low had conducted a briefing on plans for the Terengganu Investment Authority in the kitchen of the apartment back in 2008.
He added that he had been to the apartment twice.
Amhari arrested last year after coming back from a family holiday
2.18pm - Najib Abdul Razak's former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin was detained in July last year upon returning from a family holiday to Thailand and Cambodia.
Amhari tells the court this under cross-examination from lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
When Shafee asked whether this was the trip where Amhari tried to transfer the BSI money, the witness said it was not.
Proceedings resume
2.05pm - Proceedings resume with Najib Abdul Razak back in the dock.
Court adjourns for Najib to seek treatment for eye condition
11.24am - Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah allows proceedings to temporarily adjourn and to resume at 2pm this afternoon.
This is to allow Najib Abdul Razak (photo) to meet a specialist over his eye problem, where lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah earlier said was possibly due to the ongoing haze problem.
Transfer of TIA to federal gov't completed on Aug 12, 2009
11.20am - The court hears that the transfer of Terengganu Investment Authority's (TIA) ownership to the federal government was completed on Aug 12, 2009.
This is based on a RM1,000,002.00 shares certificate that defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah highlighted to witness Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin.
Shafee: Document Vol 2 Tab 37 is the share certificate for RM1,000,002 dated Aug 12, 2009. So, the ownership transfer is completed now?
Amhari: Correct.
'You kept quiet because you were close to Jho Low'
10.10am - Witness Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin tells the court during cross-examination that he did not inform then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak of concerns raised about Jho Low during the 2009 TIA meeting.
He says then-Treasury secretary-general Wan Abdul Aziz, who chaired the TIA meeting on June 30, 2009, would brief Najib about it and he did not ask Wan Abdul Aziz if the latter had told Najib about the matter.
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah puts forth that Amhari had kept quiet about the doubts on Low's misrepresentation because he was close to the businessperson.
Shafee: You kept quiet because you were close to Jho Low.
Amhari: I disagree.
Istana Negara rep raised suspicion on Jho Low's role during TIA meeting
10am - Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin tells the court that a representative of Istana Negara had questioned the role of business person Low Taek Jho in the setting up of the sovereign wealth fund in a Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) meeting.
Amhari testifies that the meeting which took place on June 2009 was attended by, among others, one Tuan Haji Wan Ismail Wan Nik as the then-Yang DiPertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin's representative, Terengganu Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI) representatives, and TIA CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi.
For the record, Tuanku Mizan was also the ruler of Terengganu. The defence established during yesterday's hearing that TIA was Tuanku Mizan's idea.
Amhari confirms the meeting minutes which stated that Tuanku Mizan's representative had raised doubts about Low's role and the possibility that the ruler's name could have been abused by unscrupulous parties.
However, he tells the court he did not contribute to the discussion about Low's role during the meeting despite knowing Low previously represented to himself as an adviser to Tuanku Mizan.
Amhari says he was only a junior officer then and claims that it was a culture understood by civil servants that junior officers should just keep quiet and only follow orders.
Civil servants understand that sometimes you don't talk - Amhari
9.57am - Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and witness Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin get into a verbal tussle over whether junior government officers should speak up over issues.
The heated atmosphere arises when Shafee cross-examines the 8th prosecution witness over why he did not do more to raise the issue of wanted businessperson Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, for allegedly misrepresenting himself as a representative of the then-Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Shafee: Is there a prohibition on junior officers from speaking?
Amhari: No.
Shafee: So you can speak (on issues) at the (TIA) meetings?
Amhari: Yes. But all civil servants understand that sometimes, you just do not talk, you listen and later talk (to an immediate superior). That is the normal culture.
Shafee: I was a public servant for eight years and that does not happen.
Shafee accuses Amhari of having "jaundiced" view on TIA meeting
9.55am - Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (drawing, below) describes Najib Abdul Razak's former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin as having a "jaundiced" view on his role in a Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) meeting in June 2009.
He gave Amhari this label for allegedly failing to address the issue of Low Taek Jho misrepresenting himself as a representative of the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 2009.
According to minutes of the TIA meeting on June 30, 2009, a representative of the Agong had complained that Jho Low was going around representing himself as the Agong's representative.
Shafee: I put it to you that you have a jaundiced way of looking at it and you are not looking at it from a proper perspective.
"In the (TIA) meetings, you should have contributed to such serious content, which is the character of Low. You failed to act as the representative of the PMO (Prime Minister's Office)," says Shafee.
The witness counters that he was a junior officer at that time ad was merely following orders.
Amhari says he could only raise the matter with his immediate superior, who would then raise it with then-prime minister Najib.
Court to break at 11.30am for Najib to see an eye specialist
9.45am - Today's proceedings will adjourn at 11.30am to allow accused Najib Abdul Razak to see a specialist over a haze-related eye problem.
In allowing the application by the former prime minister's lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah reminds all parties that proceedings will resume at 2.30pm this afternoon.
Sequerah also adds that proceedings will go beyond 5pm today.
Proceedings resume
9.36am - Najib enters the dock as proceedings resume for the cross-examination of Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin by the defence.
9.29am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery to await proceedings to begin.
More revelations expected in defence's cross-examination of Amhari
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's defence team is expected to grill his former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin today over the role that wanted businessperson Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, played in the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) before it transformed into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
This may be elicited from the pattern of cross-examination that the former prime minister's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had subjected the eighth defence witness Amhari yesterday.
During the proceedings in the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday, Shafee's questioning yielded revelations that Jho Low had eyed petroleum investment in Terengganu as far back as 2008 and that the fugitive financier had attended TIA meetings in 2009, among others.
The proceedings before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah is expected to begin around 9.15am. -Mkini
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