The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving alleged abuse of power and laundering of 1MDB funds enters its sixth day at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- 'Let's see', defence says when asked about impeaching ex-aide
- Najib's ex-aide deleted emails after release from MACC remand
- Najib never told me to meet Jho Low at Prince Hotel - witness
- Najib's ex-aide grilled over 'inconsistencies' in witness statement
- 'Many in PMO unaware that Jho Low was Najib's unofficial adviser'
- Najib never issued me inappropriate orders, witness says
- Palace upset with Jho Low claiming to be Agong's representative
- Najib briefed on FAQs denying Jho Low's role in 1MDB - ex-aide
- 'Jho Low attended Najib and Rosmah's exclusive private functions'
- 'I didn't have full info on 1MDB-IPIC dispute when sent to Abu Dhabi'
- Najib's ex-aide did not declare US$200k loan from Jho Low
- Defence wants 3 days in October vacated for Cradle CEO murder trial
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5.17pm - Thank you for following our live report today.
'Let's see', defence says when asked about impeaching ex-aide
5.15pm - After the adjournment of today's hearing, lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (photo) was asked whether there are any plans to impeach prosecution witness Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin.
This follows the defence pointing out several inconsistencies in the testimony of Najib Abdul Razak's former special officer.
Shafee, however, only smiles and says, "Let's see."
The lawyer also says he expects the cross-examination of Amhari, which has stretched over two full days, to be completed by this week.
Proceedings adjourn for the day
4.47pm - Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah allows proceedings to adjourn for the day and resume at 9.30am tomorrow.
Najib's ex-aide deleted emails after release from MACC remand
4.30pm - Witness Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin tells the court that he deleted his emails several months after being released from MACC remand.
Amhari, a former special officer to Najib Abdul Razak, testifies that he did so earlier this year because clearing his inbox is an annual practice.
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had asked him if he still keeps his emails, including those from 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho.
Shafee: Most of the emails would be there (in your BlackBerry)?
Amhari: No, I have deleted them. I delete my emails regularly.
Shafee: You don't know about (Najib's former chief private secretary) Azlin Alias of course?
Amhari: No.
Shafee: Low's emails to you, you deleted all of them?
Amhari: I think by now, I have deleted all of them.
Shafee: What you mean 'by now'?
Amhari: I think after MACC remanded me, I cleared all my emails. Doesn't matter from whom. I wanted to start fresh.
Shafee: After MACC arrested you, you went back and you cleared your emails?
Amhari: Yes.
The witness says he had given his email password to the MACC when he was remanded last July, but that he is unsure if any data was extracted from the account.
When Shafee asks him if he had obtained permission from the MACC to delete his emails, as he was under investigation at the time, Amhari says that he did not, as it did not occur to him at the time.
Amhari also disagrees with Shafee's suggestion that the emails were deleted because they would expose the true nature of his link to Low.
Earlier, the witness said that he had received his BlackBerry from Low.
The device, however, was confiscated by the MACC during his arrest last year, and is still in its keeping.
Najib never told me to meet Jho Low at Prince Hotel - witness
4.18pm - Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin admits that then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak (photo) never ordered him to meet fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho at the Prince Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Amhari, Najib's former special officer, says this during cross-examination by lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Shafee: I put it to you that the fact that prime minister Najib had never directed you two (Amhari and Najib's then-chief private secretary Azlin Alias) on any occasion to meet Low at the hotel at KL means he never sanctioned you two to meet Low?
Amhari: I disagree.
Shafee: Did Najib ever told you and Azlin to meet Low that night at Prince Hotel for example?
Amhari: Not to me.
Shafee: Are you not baffled by this strange game that Low created for you two to meet him at the hotel?
Amhari: It did not strike me as strange.
Najib's ex-aide grilled over 'inconsistencies' in witness statement
3.30pm - Najib Abdul Razak's lawyers are grilling his former special officer, Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin (photo), over alleged inconsistencies in the latter's written testimony.
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah points out that Amhari had earlier stated that "most of the time," he and the late Azlin Alias had checked with Najib on instructions they received from 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho.
Azlin was Najib's principal private secretary at the time.
Shafee says that paragraph 17 of Amhari's witness statement contradicts paragraph 25, which states that he and Azlin only checked with Najib "sometimes" and "whenever necessary."
Amhari then asks for time to read his witness statement again.
The exchange takes more than 15 minutes, before Amhari agrees that they checked with Najib only when necessary.
The lawyer then grills the witness on why he was being inconsistent.
'Many in PMO unaware that Jho Low was Najib's unofficial adviser'
3.05pm - Not many staffers in the Prime Minister's Office were aware that 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho was the unofficial adviser to then-premier Najib Abdul Razak, testifies his former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin.
During cross-examination, Amhari says that this is because Low was not appointed to the role officially (tanpa lantikan rasmi), but confidentially (secara sulit).
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah is asking Amhari what he meant by "secara sulit" in his witness statement.
"Not many in PMO knew. Senior officers would know. Azlin Alias (Najib's former principal private secretary) and a few others would know that Low had discussions with Najib.
"But many in PMO did not know," he says.
Proceedings resume
2.30pm - Proceedings resume after the lunch break.
Court breaks for lunch
12.30pm - Court breaks for lunch, and will resume at 2.30pm.
Najib never issued me inappropriate orders, witness says
12.29pm - Najib Abdul Razak's former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin testifies that he was never issued inappropriate directives by the former premier.
Amhari says this to lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah during cross-examination.
Shafee: I put it to you that there has never been a single occasion that Najib gave direction to you that is inappropriate?
Amhari: I will answer my way. Overwhelmingly, I have not observed wrong instructions given to me. I cannot say for the others.
Palace upset with Jho Low claiming to be Agong's representative
12.15pm - The court hears that in 2009, the palace was upset with 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho portraying himself a representative of the then-Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Sultan Mahmud.
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (photo) reveals this by referring to the minutes of a Terengganu Investment Authority meeting on May 29, 2009. TIA was the forerunner of 1MDB.
According to the minutes, palace representatives from Terengganu Menteri Besar Inc (MBI) were upset that Low claimed to be representing the Terengganu ruler.
Shafee refers to the minutes in his cross-examination of Najib Abdul Razak's former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, who attended a later TIA meeting in June that year.
Shafee: The palace representative questioned the role of Low, as the palace was worried there are certain quarters misusing the name of the Agong. You agree that at this second meeting (June 30), representatives of the Agong and MBI Inc disputed Low as representative of the Agong. This document (May 29 minutes) speaks for itself.
Amhari: Yes.
Najib briefed on FAQs denying Jho Low's role in 1MDB - ex-aide
12.10pm - The court hears from witness Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin that Najib Abdul Razak was briefed on the 'frequently asked questions' document prepared by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (photo) suggesting that he was not involved with 1MDB.
Amhari says that Najib was briefed on the matter by the late Azlin Alias before his death on April 4, 2015.
Although not specifying the exact date, Amhari – who served as Najib's special officer at the time – said he was present at the briefing.
The witness was asked by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to provide examples of instructions from Low that he or Azlin had checked with Najib on.
However, Amhari tells the court that he cannot remember if the FAQ document was shown to Najib at the time, nor if the document was destroyed the night before, as Low had ordered.
Shafee disputes the witness' testimony, however. He suggests that Amhari would not be able to remember what Azlin told Najib, since he cannot even remember if he still had the document in his possession.
Amhari disagrees, and insists that he remembers what Azlin told Najib as the matter stood in stark contrast to what was going on with 1MDB at the time.
Shafee then claims that the witness made the story up to "play ball" with the MACC and not be charged in court.
The witness again disagrees.
'Jho Low attended Najib and Rosmah's exclusive private functions'
11.35am - The court hears that 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho was close to Rosmah Mansor and her husband, former premier Najib Abdul Razak, as he was seen at their private functions.
Najib's former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin says under cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah that these private functions were very exclusive.
Shafee: What transpired that made you conclude that they (Low and Rosmah) were close?
Amhari: In terms of functions. Some of these functions... I do not want to generalise a person's private life, but for some of the private functions that Najib and Rosmah organised in the early years, I would see Low there as well. It was very exclusive.
Shafee: How many people attended the functions?
Amhari: Around a hundred people.
The witness adds that he believes Low and Rosmah were close as he could overhear their phone conversations.
This occurred when he and Najib's former special officer Azlin Alias met Low at the Prince Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Court goes into recess
10.50am - Court breaks for a short recess.
'I didn't have full info on 1MDB-IPIC dispute when sent to Abu Dhabi'
10.30am - Najib Abdul Razak's former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin testifies that he did not have the full knowledge of 1MDB's debt dispute with the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) when sent to Abu Dhabi for negotiations in 2016.
"To be honest, Yang Arif, I didn't understand the full scale of Ipic issue and I was only taking instructions. I didn't have full information of IPIC," he says.
IPIC wanted back the US$1 billion it had extended to 1MDB when the latter could not repay a US$975 million loan by Deutsche Bank.
The witness testified last week that he was tasked by Najib to meet key people in Abu Dhabi to resolve the dispute out of court.
Under cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Amhari also says that he was not aware that Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company had invested US$1.2 billion (RM5 billion) in Iskandar Malaysia in 2008.
Mubadala merged with IPIC in 2017.
Amhari also tells the court that he was not aware that the project was the 'baby project' of his then-boss Mohd Effendi Norwawi, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department at the time.
Effendi was in charge of the Economic Planning Unit, and Amhari had been his special officer from 2006 until 2008, prior to becoming Najib's special officer.
Amhari testifies that he only knew that there was the Iskandar Regional Development Authority Act 2007, but did not know much about the project.
He adds that his direct involvement was limited to accompanying Effendi to meetings.
"I followed (Effendi) into the meeting, hold the files of whatever was being discussed, and see if there were any instructions from him."
Najib's ex-aide did not declare US$200k loan from Jho Low
9.50am - Former premier Najib Abdul Razak's then-special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin admits he did not declare the US$200,000 loaned to him by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho.
During cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Amhari says that he knew Low did deals with the government, specifically the Prime Minister's Office, Economic Planning Unit and the Finance Ministry.
Amhari: He (Low) had an interest with the government.
Shafee: And you did not declare this US$200,000 loan to the government or got permission from your principal? It could be an offence on your part?
Amhari: I did not realise, know or was clear that it was an offence.
Last week, the witness testified under cross-examination that he received the loan from Low.
Defence wants 3 days in October vacated for Cradle CEO murder trial
9.45am - The hearing starts with lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah asking the eighth witness, Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, to produce a bail bond agreement, which he was asked to obtain last week.
After Amhari tells the court that the document was handed over to the MACC investigating officer, Shafee then asks him to get it from the officer for the purpose of cross-examination.
While Amhari goes searching for the MACC officer, Shafee requests Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah for three days of the 1MDB hearing to be vacated – Oct 1, 2, and 3.
He says he was asked by the Shah Alam High Court judge presiding in the murder case of Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan (photo) to put in the request.
Shafee is representing Nazrin's wife, Samirah Muzaffar, who along with her two teenage sons and Indonesian national Eka Wahyu Lestari, is charged with the murder.
Hearings for the murder trial are currently only taking place on Fridays, as other days were vacated for the 1MDB hearing.
Sequerah says, however, that he will have to see the progress of the hearing first before making a decision, as October is still many days away.
Ex-PM in the dock
9.37am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the dock as proceedings begin.
Najib enters court
9.30am - The accused, Najib Abdul Razak, enters the court and takes a seat in the front row of the public gallery.
Also seen are lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah as well as lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram.
On the sixth day of Najib Abdul Razak's RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial, the cross-examination of his then-special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin may be premised on the claim that the former premier was not aware of the illicit activities carried out by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho.
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah revealed on Thursday that Najib’s instructions showed that he was unaware of Amhari being ordered by Low to open a bank account in Singapore.
For today's hearing before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, the defence is set to subject Amhari, the eighth witness, to further heavy questioning.
The defence will likely focus on Low’s instructions to Amhari on the fund transfers related to the 25 counts of corruption and money laundering that Najib is facing. - Mkini
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