The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged abuse of power and laundering of 1MDB funds enters its second day at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Judge denies defence's request to end daily hearings at 4.30pm
- Najib's special officer and 1MDB personalities appointed to its energy subsidiary
- Witness: MACC asked information on four local companies
- SSM officer identifies TIA/1MDB registration documents
- Judge rejects prosecution's request to adjourn trial to next week
- Najib gave cheque to help the poor Malays in Batu Kawan - Noor
- I received RM100k party contribution from Najib: Batu Kawan Umno chief
- Batu Kawan Umno division chief takes the stand
- Najib didn’t issue cheques directly to prevent circulation on FB - witness
Judge denies defence's request to end daily hearings at 4.30pm
4.05pm - As the court returns from a short break, the defence makes a request to shorten daily hearings as the accused Najib Abdul Razak could not sit on the wooden plank bench throughout the entire proceedings.
The request comes as the judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah (photo) declines DPP Mustaffa P Kunyalam's request to cut short today's session at 4.30pm.
Lead defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah rises from his seat to make a similar request.
Shafee first cites documentation issues as a reason for the judge to consider shortening today's hearing, before going into his client's health issue.
"But more critical is that my client (had been) sitting on a pure plank...almost everyday.
"As soon as Yang Arif allowed for adjournment (just now), he had to do some stretching, if not it’s going to get worse," he tells the judge .
Shafee also adds that he had raised similar issue at Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali's court, where Najib is facing another criminal trial related to SRC International.
Sequerah said he can only allow for the court to be adjourned at 4.45pm today.
Shafee then makes another request, asking the judge to consider setting the end time for future daily hearings at 4.30pm.
The judge denied the request but tells the lawyer that he (Sequerah) can consider allowing periodical breaks if required.
Najib's special officer and 1MDB personalities appointed to its energy subsidiary
3.38pm - The Kuala Lumpur High Court hears today that then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's special officer Wan Ahmad Shihab Ismail Wan Ismail was made a director in Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd, an energy producer that 1MDB purchased from tycoon Ananda Krishnan, in early March 2012.
The court also hears that two personalities linked to 1MDB, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Terence Geh Choh Heng, were also appointed as Tanjong Energy Holdings' managing director and CEO (Shahrol), and deputy chief financial officer (Geh).
Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) officer Rafidah Yahya confirms this during examination-in-chief by DPP Mustaffa P Kunyalam in regards to the company's Form 49, which has details of its directorship.
Mustaffa: In Tanjong Energy Holdings, Ahmad Ismail Wan Ismail, the special officer to prime minister (Najib) was made director on May 22, 2012, as well as Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi being made managing director and CEO, and the appointment of (Terence) Geh Choh Heng as director (on May 22, 2012).
Rafidah: Correct.
Witness: MACC asked information on four local companies
2.45pm - The court hears from Companies Commission officer Rafidah Yahaya (photo) that the MACC had made another request for information on four companies last year to facilitate their investigation into the 1MDB scandal.
She says that the request was made by MACC officer Shahrul Nizam Abdul Aziz on April 22, 2019.
The companies include Powertek Investment Holding Sdn Bhd, Merpati Energy (Langat) Sdn Bhd, and Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd.
Rafidah tells the court that she then processed the request and printed out documents needed by MACC and handed them to the officer.
Under examination-in-chief by DPP Mustaffa P Kunyalam, the witness then continues with identifying the documents in court for the purpose of tendering them as prosecution's evidence.
2.42pm - Proceedings resume.
1pm - The court breaks for lunch until 2.30pm.
Companies Commission officer Rafidah Yahaya is expected to return to the witness stand to continue her testimony.
SSM officer identifies TIA/1MDB registration documents
12.05pm - The prosecution calls its eighth witness, Companies Commission (SSM) officer Rafidah Yahaya to testify in court.
DPP Mustaffa P Kunyalam conducts the examination-in-chief on the witness.
Rafidah starts her testimony by identifying documents that she had surrendered to MACC on May 28, 2018, including business registration certificate for Terengganu Investment Authority Berhad, which was later known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
Judge rejects prosecution's request to adjourn trial to next week
11.30am - After the prosecution's sixth witness Mohd Noor Ahmad is released from the stand, lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram makes a request to the court to adjourn today's proceedings.
He informs the court that the prosecution is expecting a lengthy session to conduct examination on the seventh witness, as there are 177 documents to be tendered with the witness.
"If it is convenient to My Lordship, we would like to take it to Tuesday morning," says Sri Ram.
Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah, however, is not keen to adjourn the trial.
He says they have already lost "several days", referring to the trial's postponements in the past few weeks.
"We will start today. We already lost several days.
"I’m sure it will spill to Tuesday," says the judge.
Sequerah then allows for a short break for the prosecution to prepare for the next witness.
Najib gave cheque to help the poor Malays in Batu Kawan - Noor
11.20am - The court hears from Batu Kawan Umno division chief Mohd Noor Ahmad that a sum of RM100,000 which the division received from then party president Najib Abdul Razak in 2013 was used to conduct activities to help those in need in the constituency.
The witness, testifying under cross-examination by defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (photo), agrees to the lawyer's suggestion that the Malays in Penang were among the less fortunate in the country compared to other states.
He also agrees that the Malays in the northern state were in need of such assistance for their livelihood.
Shafee: One more question. Although I myself am also from Penang... would you agree that the economical state of the Malays in Penang is not very good?
Mohd Noor: Yes, I agree.
Shafee: In Malaysia, one of the states where (the Malays) are still being left behind (economically) is Penang?
Mohd Noor: Agree.
Shafee: And they need assistance to uplift their livelihood?
Mohd Noor: True.
Shafee: And during that time when you received the funds from Najib, the Penang state government was not under Barisan Nasional?
Mohd Noor: Yes.
Shafee: And you received this donation to help the people in Batu Kawan?
Mohd Noor: True.
The witness also testifies that the Umno division's bank account had been frozen by the authorities for about a year over the case.
I received RM100k party contribution from Najib: Batu Kawan Umno chief
11.05am - Batu Kawan Umno division chief Mohd Noor Ahmad (photo) testifies that he received an RM100,000 cheque as a contribution to the division from then party president Najib Abdul Razak at the Prime Minister's Office on Aug 6, 2013.
The sixth witness says this during examination-in-chief by DPP Najwa Bistamam.
“I informed the party president, who was also then prime minister, at the Prime Minister's office," he says.
"It was on Aug 6, 2013," Noor says in relation to a cheque made out by Najib to the party division as a contribution.
The cheque, dated Aug 7, 2013, is a subject matter of one of the 21 charges of money laundering against Najib in the RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial.
Batu Kawan Umno division chief takes the stand
11am - Former political secretary to Najib Abdul Razak, Wong Nai Chee, finishes his testimony and is released from the witness stand.
The prosecution now calls in their sixth witness, Batu Kawan Umno division Mohd Noor Ahmad, to testify in court.
Najib didn’t issue cheques directly to prevent circulation on FB - witness
10.15am - Najib Abdul Razak's former political secretary Wong Nai Chee testifies that the former prime minister did not issue cheques directly to two entities to prevent it from being circulated on Facebook.
During examination-in-chief, the fifth witness tells lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram (photo) that the cheques were instead issued to activist Lim Soon Peng, and he relayed them to Akademi Kewartawanan and Informasi, and AD Network.
The first recipient is involved in the publication of a Chinese weekly, while AD Network is the administrator of the Ah Jib Gor Facebook page.
"If a personal cheque issued by the PM (Najib), we do not want it to circulate on Facebook.
"We would rather pay someone whom we trusted, so he (Lim) can pay (to the two entities)," Wong says.
Among the cheques issued was a payment for RM246,000 by Najib on Aug 7, 2013.
10.05am - The proceedings begin with the prosecution calling their fifth witness, Najib’s former political secretary Wong Nai Chee (photo).
9.30am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery to await the beginning of proceedings.
Also seen in court is his lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, and lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram.
Najib and his defence lawyers had attended another matter before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan earlier this morning.
As Najib Abdul Razak’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial enters its second day today, a line has been drawn in the sand between the prosecution and the former prime minister’s defence team.
Yesterday, lead DPP and former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram’s opening statement described an alleged “elaborate charade” to enrich the accused with the purported collusion of his “mirror image” and wanted businessperson Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.
Not to be perturbed, Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah yesterday declared that the prosecution still needed to prove that the former premier knew that the funds originated from troubled sovereign fund 1MDB, instead of a donation from a “Saudi King” as claimed by the accused.
As each side establishes their respective positions, the hearing before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah may see at least two witnesses being called to testify today.
This includes Najib’s former political secretary, Wong Nai Chee and Batu Kawan Umno division chief Mohd Noor Ahmad. - Mkini
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