Najib's 1MDB audit trial next week put off due to MCO

Najib Abdul Razak’s 1MDB audit tampering trial has been taken off next week due to the recent reimposition of the movement control order (MCO).

The former prime minister’s trial dates were postponed as the MCO, which covers the capital where the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex is located, is only set to expire on Jan 26.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib today confirmed the postponement.

“Najib’s 1MDB audit trial for next week has been vacated due to the MCO.

“This means the trial dates on Monday to Thursday next week have been vacated,” he told Malaysiakini.

When contacted today, Najib’s defence counsel Nur Syahirah Hanapiah also confirmed that the trial dates for next week have been taken off due to the MCO.

“The trial dates from Jan 18 to 21 have been vacated because of the MCO,” she said.

She added this is because there is a directive from the judiciary that criminal trials would be postponed during the duration of a full MCO.

On Jan 11, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the reimposition of full MCO on eight states and territories as part of tougher measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

These areas are Penang, Selangor, Malacca, Johor, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. The full MCO in these areas are only set to expire on Jan 26.

Najib’s 1MDB audit report trial was initially set to reconvene in early December last year, but was postponed as the Pekan MP needed to attend the Parliament session.

The accused’s 1MDB audit report trial is set to reconvene on Feb 22.

Najib is on trial for allegedly using his position as then prime minister to order amendments to the 1MDB final audit report that had already been “finalised” by the auditor-general, before it was “finalised again” and presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), to avoid action being taken against him.

He is on trial with co-accused and former 1MDB CEO K Arul Kanda, who is accused of abetting Najib in making the amendments to the report. - Mkini