Senior lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing Najib Abdul Razak in his corruption trial, has rapped the 1MDB taskforce for issuing a statement saying that the former premier would be charged today.
Shafee said he agreed with Malaysian Bar president George Varughese, who questioned the legality of the taskforce in coming out with the statement.
"The taskforce is bypassing the attorney-general's powers by issuing the statement with regards to Najib being arrested and charged today.
"I am very disturbed by it as the taskforce's decision may constitute prejudgment in its supervisory role. Is the taskforce sanctioned by the prime minister or the cabinet and valid under the law? If it is not, the taskforce can be deemed illegal," he said.
Shafee added that taskforces in the previous administration were sanctioned by either Najib or the cabinet, which made them legal.
The senior lawyer also questioned the prosecution's conduct in not furnishing the defence with any documents today, as is required under Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
"What we have is only the charge sheet. I do not even have my client's cautioned statement or other documents for us to prepare the case.
"To think, former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail had said they were prepared to charge Najib in July 2015. So they would have had the documents ready to give to us now," he said, adding that documents are always given to the other side in civil trials.
"When representing former Selangor menteri besar Muhammad Muhammad Taib in Australia, the prosecution gave (the defence) a stack of documents regarding the charge on the same day he was charged," he said.
In a criminal trial, the Attorney-General Chambers normally furnishes the defence with documents during or before the first case management date,
Discharging Tommy
Shafee also told reporters that he would make an application in court to disqualify attorney-general Tommy Thomas during the next case management.
He claimed that Thomas made prejudicial statements regarding the case before Najib was charged, which in his view constitute improper conduct by an AG leading the prosecution.
Shafee indicated he would make a formal application on this matter by Aug 8.
When asked about the same issue at a separate press conference, Shafee said he will issue a response once the application is made.
Despite not receiving documents from the prosecution, Shafee was nevertheless confident about Najib's chances.
"Based on what we see, we are happy there is a case for our defence. We are confident. We will see the unfolding of the defence case."
However, Shafee said all parties must ensure there is a fair trial,
Najib is facing three charges of criminal breach of trust and one charge for abuse of power. He claimed trial to all charges at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur before Justice Mohd Sophian Abdul Razak. - Mkini
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