The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd enters its 33rd day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- 'SRC offered one-paragraph justification for RM2b KWAP loan'
- SRC received special attention from Najib - MOF officer
- 'Inclusion of adviser emeritus changes SRC as a company'
- Suboh admits memory 'somewhat affected' by health problems
- 'Nik Faisal's signatures on banking instructions also copy-and-paste'
- Court in recess as prosecution seeks evidence
- Suboh says was no longer sought by MACC after giving statement
- Suboh: I was asked to leave country because 'misled' by ex-SRC CEO
- 'No hanky panky' - Najib's lawyers defend taking exhibits out of court
- Najib enters the dock
'SRC offered one-paragraph justification for RM2b KWAP loan'
3.30pm - An officer from the Finance Ministry's Strategic Investment Department testifies that SRC International's application for a government guarantee for the first RM2 billion tranche of its loan from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) in late 2011 was merely one paragraph.
During examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Suhaimi Ibrahim, the 43rd witness says that the paragraph was insufficient to be presented in a paper to cabinet.
Suhaimi: Did you have the opportunity then to check the requirement in the government guarantee, in line with what was sought by SRC International through (then-CEO) Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil at the time?
Maliami: At the time, the information given to me was limited. The letter (from SRC International applying for the government guarantee) only had two things: Terms of the loan and justification for the loan, which was only one paragraph. This was not enough to be presented to the cabinet.
The justification merely reads out as "the purpose of the government guarantee is to ensure continuous energy resources (sumber tenaga berterusan) in the period for this country to ensure the country's development."
This information was quite limited, and not enough for the cabinet (to consider whether to approve the guarantee).
SRC received special attention from Najib - MOF officer
3.15pm: SRC International's application for government guarantees on its two loans in 2011 and 2012 were processed quickly as the company received special attention from then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Maliami Hamad, the division secretary for the Finance Ministry's Loan Management, Financial Market and Actuary Division at the time, testifies that this was the reason given to him by the Treasury secretary-general when told to speed up the application process.
While Maliami did not explicitly name his then-superior, Wan Abd Aziz Wan Abdullah served as the Treasury secretary-general when the cabinet approved the guarantees for the SRC International loans.
"During the two applications (for loan guarantees), I was asked by my subordinate officer Afidah Azwa why these needed to be processed in a hurry," he says during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Suhaimi Ibrahim.
"This was because Afidah did not have enough time to verify information received from SRC International before they were put into the cabinet memo to be tabled in the cabinet meeting.
"I informed (her) that the order I received from the Treasury secretary-general was to do it as soon as possible, because SRC International receives special attention from prime minister Najib himself, and that the need for the funds was urgent."
2.37pm - Proceedings resume after the lunch break.
1pm - The prosecution tells the court that it has completed the re-examination of witness Suboh Md Yassin (photo), and requests for the hearing to break for lunch before continuing with its next witness.
Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali orders for proceedings to resume at 2.30pm.
'Inclusion of adviser emeritus changed SRC as a company'
12.50pm - The insertion of Article 117 into SRC International's articles of association for the appointment of an adviser emeritus changed its character, the court hears.
Suboh Md Yassin, a former non-executive director, testifies under re-examination by deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram that SRC International was no longer a "normal company" after the article was introduced.
Suboh: The insertion of Article 117 change the makeup. No more a normal company. It has that article... You have to, in order to operate, you have to seek instruction from whoever is sitting there.
Sithambaram: This adviser emeritus, who is he?
Suboh: He was the prime minister then.
Sithambaram: And just for the record, who was the prime minister then?
Suboh: Datuk Seri Najib (Abdul Razak).
The witness then testifies that neither SRC International nor its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari lodged any reports with authorities over its losses.
Sithambaram: These transactions were all carried out, from what we have shown you, between 2014 and 2015. And these involve hundreds of millions of ringgit. Did SRC International or Gandingan Mentari make any report of the funds stolen from accounts?
Suboh: No.
Sithambaram: Are you aware if SRC International or Gandingan Mentari took any legal action against the bank?
Suboh: Not that I know of.
Suboh admits memory 'somewhat affected' by health problems
11.31am - Prosecution witness Suboh Md Yassin admits that his memory has been somewhat affected by a previous stroke and bypass procedure.
The former SRC International director admits this during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram.
"My health is not very good, as a result of bypass and stroke, it affected my throat, my ability to swallow.
"My memory is somewhat affected," the 68-year-old tells the court.
'Nik Faisal's signatures on banking instructions also copy-and-paste'
10.45am - The signatures of former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (photo) on banking instructions to AmIslamic Bank in 2014 and 2015 also appear to have been copied and pasted, the court hears.
Under cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram, former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin agrees that Nik Faisal's signatures on bank documents tendered in the court look identical.
This comes after Sithambaram projects Nik Faisal's signatures onto a screen.
The same method was previously employed by the defence to compare Suboh's signatures on the same bank documents.
Last week, the witness agreed when the defence suggested that his own signatures were copied and pasted from an original.
Sithambaram: So first (I showed you) a set of four, then show you 10. You agree, looking at those signatures, it appears that someone has copied and pasted Nik Faisal's signature, just like yours?
Suboh: Yes.
Sithambaram: So it could mean Nik Faisal did not sign all 14 Rentas (real-time electronic transfer of funds and securities system) documents?
Suboh: Yes.
During this process, however, Shafee rises from his seat to remind Sithambaram not to ask direct questions during re-examination.
The deputy public prosecutor defends his line of questioning, however, and tells the court that he is questioning the witness of direct evidence tendered in court.
Court in recess as prosecution seeks evidence
10.45am - As the defence tells the court that they have finished cross-examining Suboh Md Yassin, deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram requests for a break to let court assistants set up a projector and obtain original documents which are being photocopied by the defence.
Sithambaram tells the court that he needs the documents and the projector for his re-examination of the witness.
Before allowing for a short recess, Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali then asks the prosecution if there are any updates in their bid to request for a postponement of accused Najib Abdul Razak's 1MDB trial.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas informs the court that Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah earlier turned down the application, and that the 1MDB hearing would commence on Aug 19.
The court then adjourns for a short break.
Suboh says was no longer sought by MACC after giving statement
10.30am - Former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin (photo) testifies that after his statement was taken by the MACC in Abu Dhabi in 2015, he was no longer being sought by SRC International case investigators – even after his return to the country after spending over a month fleeing from authorities.
As he says under cross-examination from lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, this was up until May 2018, when he was called to have his statement recorded again several weeks after the change of the government.
Shafee: When you came back in 2015 to Malaysia, were you aware you were still wanted by the MACC?
Suboh: I was not.
Shafee: Were you being sought by the MACC after coming back?
Suboh: No.
During the hearing, Suboh also agrees to Shafee's suggestion for the court to obtain his travel details and determine how long he had spent overseas in 2015 and 2018.
This follows the witness being unable to remember how long he spent abroad when fleeing in 2015, and when he left to Indonesia for vacation on the day of the last general election.
Suboh: I was asked to leave country because 'misled' by ex-SRC CEO
10.20am - Former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin agrees with defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah's contention that he was asked to leave the country in 2015 as he was misled by then-CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil into believing he did something wrong.
Shafee: I put it to you that as Nik Faisal misled you at that time... he misled you into thinking you did something wrong, and to bring down the temperature, he suggested you go away?
Suboh: Yes.
Shafee is referring to Suboh's signatures on 17 banking instructions for the transfer of millions of ringgit between SRC International, subsidiary Gandingan Mentari and CSR partner Ihsan Perdana between 2014 and 2015, among others.
Earlier, the witness reiterated that he never asked Nik Faisal why he was asked to flee Malaysia and take refuge in Bangkok and Abu Dhabi.
'No hanky panky' - Najib's lawyers defend taking exhibits out of court
9.39am - Deputy public prosecutor V Sithambaram says that the defence taking 17 slides of exhibits out of court last Wednesday may amount to tampering of evidence.
He is referring to 17 slides of bank instructions for the transfer of millions of ringgit between SRC International, subsidiary Gandingan Mentari, and CSR partner Ihsan Perdana.
Sithambaram points out that despite the importance of these documents to the proceedings, the slides are missing from court today.
These slides were used by the defence last week to try and prove that former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin's signatures had been forged between 2014 and 2015 to authorise the transfers.
"All these documents are important, as if not in court, it may amount to tampering.
"This is important as a police report had been made, but the exhibits are not here," he says before judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
Lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (photo) explains that the slides were taken out because the defence wanted to make photocopies in a shop located outside the court.
"There is no hanky panky here, as someone has to photostat it," Shafee says.
Defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh then jumps in and says there is no issue of tampering, especially in light of the importance of the slides in terms of Suboh's changed testimony.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas counters that as the court is the natural custodian of exhibits, any attempt to remove these from court needs to be done in an open and transparent manner.
The judge then asks the defence to obtain permission from the court before removing any exhibits.
Najib enters the dock
9.38am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the dock as proceedings begin.
9.30am - Najib's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah enters the court. He is seen greeting other members of the defence team while waiting for proceedings to begin.
9.24am - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak enters court and takes a seat in the front row of the public gallery.
Najib was earlier attending a separate mention of his 1MDB case before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Also seen in court are Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and other members of the prosecution, as well as Najib's defence counsel Yusof Zainal Abiden and other members of the defence.
Is former SRC International director Suboh Md Yassin's testimony actually helping bolster former premier's Najib Abdul Razak's defence in his abuse of power, corruption and money laundering trial involving RM42 million from the company?
This is what lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah implied would be the case, as his client's trial enters its 33rd day before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
After proceedings on July 3, Shafee told the media that Suboh, the 42nd witness, is the answer to proving Najib's innocence.
Over the course of last week, the 68-year-old Suboh agreed with the defence's assertion that his signature on 17 banking instructions between 2014 and 2015 had been forged.
Suboh also testified that he was not aware of the related transactions, which involved authorisation of transfers millions of ringgit linked to the accounts of SRC International, subsidiary Gandingan Mentari, and CSR partner Ihsan Perdana, among others.
However, the witness' oral evidence that SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil emboldened action as though he had a "mountain behind him" may be among testimony that may be further probed by the prosecution during its re-examination of Suboh.
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