Sit down! Dr M's lawyer told after insisting for documents

FOREX RCI | Dr Mahathir Mohamad's lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla today insisted that his team be furnished with copies of the relevant documents and witness list on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Bank Negara's foreign exchange (forex) losses.

However, the lawyer's argument failed to impress the commissioners, with one of them telling Haniff to sit down.

Haniff had stood up during the hearing and requested for the documents, claiming these would allow the lawyers to assist the commission.

"How are we able to assist without the necessary documents? I don't wish to interrupt the commission," he said.

One of the panel members, High Court judge Kamaludin Md Said, asked Haniff how he would assist the commission if he was given copies of the documents.

Haniff explained that the documents were essential in order for the lawyers to frame revelant questions for the witnesses.

"Then you wait for what the witness is going to say. Sit down, we want to proceed," Kamaludin retorted, raising his voice.

Speaking to reporters later, Haniff said the documents were needed to ensure that lawyers would not interrupt the proceedings.

"Thus far, the commission has not decided whether we have the right to get the witness list.

"The  statements of the witnesses read out are not provided to us. We are in a position in which we are listening to them, sometimes these are badly read out because the microphone is not functioning.

"We can hardly listen and follow, we don't have the material in front of us. We just hope that the commission could, when the matter proceeds further, provide us with the documents," Haniff added.

Haniff and R Sivarasa, who is representing Pakatan Harapan de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, had previously confirmed that they were seeking to obtain the list of witnesses to be called by the RCI.

The RCI has been tasked with determining the veracity of allegations surrounding the forex losses incurred by Bank Negara and its implications on the national economy.

It would also determine if Bank Negara's involvement in forex activities contravened the Central Bank Ordinance 1958 or other related laws.

Finally, the RCI would decide if there were attempts to conceal facts and information on the forex activities. It would also recommend actions to be taken against those found to be directly or indirectly involved.

The forex scandal occurred during the 1990s when Mahathir was prime minister, prompting certain quarters to accuse Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak of now attempting to exact political revenge against his nemesis and to deflect attention from 1MDB. - Mkini