The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged abuse of power and money laundering of 1MDB funds enters its 15th day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- I was in Team Najib, I was playing my role - Shahrol
- I can't blame Najib for being conned by Jho Low - ex-1MDB CEO
- Witness observed Tuanku Mizan was familiar with Jho Low
- TIA was the brainchild of Tuanku Mizan, not Najib - witness
- Najib not involved in TIA’s early stage, says former 1MDB CEO
- Goldman Sachs was involved since TIA’s early days - Shahrol
- Travel ban was to prevent my disappearance: ex-1MDB CEO
- Jho Low pegged me as a person who is not a 'busybody' - witness
- Shahrol studied at Stanford University, barely managed to graduate
- Witness’ biggest takeaway from RMC was learning chain of command
- Shahrol was top student at Royal Military College
I was in Team Najib, I was playing my role - Shahrol
2.59pm - "I was (in) Team Najib, I was playing my role".
This is what former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi testifies at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon.
He is answering a question from lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah during cross-examination.
Shahrol is testifying that during the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing at Parliament in 2015, he was unable to provide full answers as he was kept getting cut off during questioning by the panel.
Shafee then asks Shahrol why the witness does not do anything about it in regards to being cut off during questioning by the PAC panel led by Rompin MP Hasan Arifin.
Shafee reminds Shahrol that the PAC later came to the conclusion that the witness should be investigated for decisions made without the consent of the 1MDB board.
Shahrol: I was (in) Team Najib, I was playing my role.
Shafee: How could you be Team Najib when you were condemned?
Shahrol: Even at that time, I trusted Najib and before all these other things came up, I was shown the money flow and the account. I still believed him (Najib) and that there was a political attack against him.
I trusted Najib and his team that this was a political attack against him and I trusted that what I did as (1MDB) CEO was in accordance to Najib's wishes for the good of the country.
Shafee: You believed this aspect, what you just said that you trusted Najib which implies what was done in 1MDB was right?
Shahrol: Yes, right for the good of the country.
2.38pm - Proceedings resume.
I can't blame Najib for being conned by Jho Low - ex-1MDB CEO
12.50pm - Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi concedes that he cannot blame Najib Abdul Razak for the former 1MDB CEO being conned by Jho Low.
Ninth witness Shahrol admits this when under cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Shahrol says he began to doubt Jho Low only around 2015 while he did not doubt the fugitive financier in 2009.
Shafee: As a (TIA and 1MDB) CEO, if you had implicit and explicit trust (in Jho Low), you would not blame my client the former prime minister (Najib). You yourself got conned (by Jho Low).
Shahrol: I would not blame him (Najib).
Shafee: You cannot say he (Najib) must be a culprit in the conspiracy?
Shahrol: It was not my place to say anything.
At this juncture, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah adjourns proceedings for lunch break.
Cross-examination of Shahrol will continue at 2.30pm.
Witness observed Tuanku Mizan was familiar with Jho Low
12.40am - According to former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, from his short observation of Jho Low's conduct at Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin's palace in 2009, both of them were familiar with each other.
Shahrol adds that he saw Jho Low was someone who "had the approval of the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong".
The witness testifies this when lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah asks him to confirm if Tuanku Mizan (above) was impressed with Jho Low back in 2009.
Shafee: Can you confirm from your observation, that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (then), (who is also) the Sultan of Terengganu, was very impressed with Jho Low?
Shahrol: It was a very short observation of the interactions between Jho and the Agong, which was then only about a couple of times in the istana (palace). But from the way Jho was conducting himself in the istana, I can see at least they were familiar (wuth each other) and he had the approval of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at that time.
The court also hears that Jho Low had the influence to secure an offer letter for Shahrol to become Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA)’s first CEO just over a weekend after being interviewed on a Friday in March 2009.
TIA was the brainchild of Tuanku Mizan, not Najib - witness
12.30pm - Witness Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi agrees to a question posed by the defence that 1MDB's precursor Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) was the brainchild or "baby" of the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.
He also agrees that it would be wrong for anyone to suggest that it was the idea of Najib Abdul Razak to create TIA as sovereign wealth fund for Terengganu and then to federalise the company.
Najib not involved in TIA’s early stage, says former 1MDB CEO
12.18pm - Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi agrees with the defence that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was not involved in the early days of the sovereign wealth fund's predecessor, Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
The ninth witness concurs with the lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah during cross-examination over whether Najib was involved in the early stage of TIA back in early 2009.
Shafee is referring to the time when international banking firm Goldman Sachs was emerging as a potential consultant for the setting up of TIA.
Shafee: At this early stage of TIA, Najib was not involved, with Goldman Sachs already there with another consulting firm, and with advice from Jho Low?
Shahrol: Yes.
Shafee: Jho Low was there to ensure his advice is followed. You attended (related meetings) and you know about Jho Low's idea. Jho Low supported the appointment of Goldman Sachs and Jho Low pushed for it?
Shahrol: Yes.
Goldman Sachs was involved since TIA’s early days - Shahrol
12.13pm - The court hears from Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi that the banking and investment firm Goldman Sachs had been involved with the 1MDB since the early days of its precursor Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
Shahrol, who was the 1MDB CEO from 2009 to 2013, testifies this based on documents related to the company which had been tendered as evidence in court.
This includes a Request For Proposal document dated March 9, 2009, which shows that TIA had received proposals from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Nomura.
Travel ban was to prevent my disappearance: ex-1MDB CEO
11.37am - The travel ban against former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi was to prevent the key witness from disappearing, the court hears.
Ninth witness Shahrol says this during cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Shahrol is replying to questioning from Shafee on why the witness did not ask the authorities the reason for the travel ban.
Shahrol says it was clear in his mind then that the travel ban against him was related to the 1MDB investigation.
He says that he made this assumption because he was part of the group of people that included former 1MDB directors and senior management that were banned from travelling.
Shahrol: It was to prevent people with information on the case from disappearing.
Shafee: They (authorities) wanted to prevent you from disappearing?
Shahrol: Yes.
Shafee: You were regarded as a flight risk?
Shahrol: I do not know.
Shahrol, who is currently jobless, agrees with Shafee that the travel ban was a burden on the former as it made it difficult for him to find new employment.
Jho Low pegged me as a person who is not a 'busybody' - witness
10.36am - Wanted businessperson Low Taek Jho (below) had pegged former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi as a person who is not a busybody, the court hears.
The ninth witness Shahrol tells lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah this during cross-examination.
Shafee is asking Shahrol about paragraph two of his witness statement, where he states that "...Jho Low assessed on my character and personal (aspect) as only carrying out client's orders without asking many questions.
The paragraph in question deals with the time that Shahrol, then managing director at Accenture, first met the fugitive financier in 2007.
Shahrol: What I intended to convey at the time was that Jho Low pegged me as someone who is... I am struggling to find the words here... the word that comes to mind is “kepochi”, busybody is more appropriate here.
Shafee: He (Jho Low) liked your character of just taking instruction without knowing the ultimate journey?
Shahrol: Not quite. I just took enough information necessary to deliver the outcome as I understood it. Anything other than the outcome not relevant to the task at hand, I trusted other people to look at it.
Shahrol studied at Stanford University, barely managed to graduate
10.30am - Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi testifies that he furthered his tertiary education in the United States in 1988 by doing pre-university at an institution in Los Angeles before going to Stanford University.
He tells the court that he studied Electrical Engineering, and "barely managed" to graduate five years later in 1994.
According to Shahrol, the normal period for completion of a degree in the course then was four years.
Under cross-examination by the defence, Shahrol says that Stanford at that time was on the top three list of universities for engineering after MIT and Cal Tech.
The witness says after graduating from Stanford, he got his first job at Andersen Consulting, which later became Accenture.
Starting at the company as an intern in 1995, Shahrol then builds up his career to become an analyst, manager, senior manager, and eventually a partner-level executive with a drawn salary of close to RM30,000 before resigning in 2009.
Witness’ biggest takeaway from RMC was learning chain of command
9.50am - The court hears from a former 1MDB CEO that the biggest takeaway from his secondary studies at the Royal Military College (RMC) was learning the chain of command.
Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi (below) says this during the cross-examination by defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who asks the witness if his years of studying in the military school had taught him to be independent.
Shafee: Before you went to university, the five years in military college taught you to be very independent.
Shahrol: Not necessarily. I think the biggest takeaway for me from RMC was the importance of the chain of command.
The witness, however, agrees that the nature of his training at the college had taught him not to take everything blindly.
For the record, it is also worth noting that the lead defence counsel is also a former RMC student, or known as “Old Putera”.
Shahrol was top student at Royal Military College
9.45am - Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah starts his cross-examination on former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi over the latter's education background, including his performance during secondary education at the Royal Military College in Sungai Besi.
The court hears from Shahrol that he spent five years studying in RMC from 1983 to 1987 at the college's boys’ wing.
According to the witness, he did "quite well" in RMC, having bagged the Director of Studies’ Award when he completed Form 5 in 1987. Shahrol was in the science stream during his secondary education.
For the record, the Director of Studies award is the recognition for the school’s top student in academics.
The witness also tells the court that he scored A1 in all of his SPM subjects except for Bahasa Malaysia.
When Shafee asks him what he got for Bahasa Malaysia subject, the witness says: "Just enough to enter the civil service, a credit 6."
9.38am - The proceedings resume with former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (below) beginning the cross-examination of former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi.
The accused Najib is seen sitting in the dock as Shafee questions the prosecution’s ninth witness Shahrol.
Today is the first day of Najib Abdul Razak's defence's cross-examination of former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, a key prosecution witness.
As the former prime minister's RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah enters the 17th day this morning, the ninth prosecution witness Shahrol is expected to undergo extensive grilling by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Last week, Shafee informed the court that the defence would need at least two weeks of hearing to cross-examine Shahrol, who was not short of gripping testimony gleaned from the witness' 270-page Witness Testimony as well as answers derived during examination-in-chief by lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram.
On the final day of his examination-in-chief on Oct 1, Shahrol testified that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had instructed him and his successor K Arul Kanda to leave the country when the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wanted to question them after the 1MDB scandal erupted in 2015.
Shahrol also gave oral evidence that he was coached by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho. who also arranged for him to meet with BN members within the PAC, including then Kota Belud MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan, before he was actually questioned by the panel on the beleaguered state-owned fund. - Mkini
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