The defence want the court to compel ‘uncooperative’ MACC witness to be interviewed by the accused’s lawyers.
9.59am: Accused Najib Abdul Razak enters the High Court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery.
Also seen in court are Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and other DPPs, as well as members of Najib’s defence team.
10.06am: Najib enters the dock as proceedings begin.
10.10am: Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah makes an oral application for a court order to compel a MACC investigating officer involved in Najib’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB case to be interviewed by the defence team prior to the officer testifying in court.
Shafee informs High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali that this is because MACC assistant commissioner Mohd Nasharudin Amir declined to be interviewed by the defence team, prior to him (Nasharudin) testifying as the seventh defence witness in court today.
Shafee argues that the defence interviewing Nasharudin prior to testimony is vital to a fair trial for Najib’s defence stage of trial.
“We have right to interview the witness so we can get from him the relevant evidence so that no-nonsense evidence come into court in order to ensure a fair trial,” Shafee says.
Attorney-General Tommy Thomas argues that a witness can opt to not be interviewed before taking the witness stand, as it is a normal process and that the power has no power to compel such witness to be interviewed beforehand.
“If (defence team) cannot meet witness or not meet, this is not the first time it happens, and the (defence) lawyer must make judgement call (whether to even call such witness or not),” Thomas says.
Thomas indicates to the court that Nasharudin is already in the witness room and that he is ready to take the stand as the seventh defence witness, regardless of whether the witness wanted to be interviewed by the defence team or not.
Nasharudin was not in the list of witnesses offered to the defence.
10.48am: The High Court has fixed Monday next week to hear an application by Najib’s defence team to interview Nasharudin prior to taking the stand as a defence witness.
Justice Nazlan sets the hearing date to allow both the defence and prosecution to prepare submissions on the issue.
On the same day, the court will also hear Najib’s application to obtain audio recordings from MACC, believed linked to 1MDB, which he said were crucial for his on-going cases.
The proceedings take a short break.
11.21am: Proceedings resume.
11.32am: Justice Nazlan allows proceedings to adjourn to Monday next week.
This follows housekeeping discussion between the defence and prosecution in relation to the defence’s application to compel Nasharudin to be interviewed by the defence prior to testifying in court.
Today is the last scheduled day for Najib’s RM42 million SRC trial, with the accused set to undergo resumption of his RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial before a separate Kuala Lumpur High Court tomorrow (Feb 18) and on Friday (Feb 21) this week.
Najib’s SRC trial is scheduled from Monday to Thursday next week.
Aside from Nasharudin, other potential witnesses that Najib’s defence may call are Putra Perdana Construction director Rosman Abdullah and Australian handwriting expert, Dr Steven Strach.
During the prosecution stage of the SRC trial last year, Putra Perdana Construction came up during testimony before the court.
Strach is the Australian handwriting expert who was allowed by the court to analyse Najib’s disputed signatures on key SRC documents.
Upon the conclusion of Rosman’s testimony, lawyers from both sides will present their final submissions before the judge, who will rule at a later date on whether to convict or exonerate Najib of the criminal charges.
1pm: The trial is adjourned for the day and scheduled to resume next Monday.
Earlier reports:
Feb 13, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 79
Feb 13, Anifah Says Improper for Najib to Buy Channel Watch with Saudi Donation
Feb 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 78
Feb 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 77
Feb 10, Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: Najib, Not King Abdullah Told Me About Donation
Feb 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 76
Feb 4, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 75
Feb 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 74
Jan 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 73
Jan 23, Stumbling for Answers at SRC Trial, Najib Is Schooled on Court Proceedings
Jan 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 72
Jan 22, Court Allows Najib to Call Expert to Verify Signatures
Jan 21, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 71
Jan 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 70
Jan 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 69
Jan 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 68
Jan 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 67
Jan 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 66
Jan 6, Prosecution’s Application to Impeach Najib Dismissed, Judge Ruled No Contradictions Given
Dec 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 65
Dec 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 64
Dec 18, Najib’s Defence Like Infamous VK Lingam’s Looks Like Me, Sounds Like Me, but Not Me
Dec 12, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 63
Dec 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 62
Dec 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 61
Dec 9, RM500K Birthday Watch for Rosmah, RM3.3M Jewellery Gift for Ex-Qatar PM’s Wife
Dec 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 60
Dec 3, Najb’s SRC Trial: Day 59
Dec 3, Najib’s Day in Court
Aug 27, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 58
Aug 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 57
Aug 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 56
Aug 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 55
Aug 19, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 54
Aug 14, SRC Trial Postponed as Najib Down with Sore Eyes
Aug 13, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 52
Aug 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 51
Aug 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 50
Aug 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 49
Aug 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 48
Aug 1, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 47
July 31, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 46
July 29, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 45
July 25, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 44
July 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 43 Vacated
July 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 42
July 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 41
July 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 40
July 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 39
July 16, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 38
July 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 37
July 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 36
July 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 35
July 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 34
July 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 33
July 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 32
July 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 31
July 1, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 30
June 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 29
June 19, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 28
June 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 27
June 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 26
June 14, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 25
June 13, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 24
June 12, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 23
June 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 22
June 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 21
May 28, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 20
May 27, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 19
May 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 18
May 14, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 17
May 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 16
May 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 15
May 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 14
May 7, Najib Fails in Second Bid to Remove Sri Ram as 1MDB Lead Prosecutor
May 7, Najib Signed Guarantee Letter for RM2B KWAP Loan to SRC, KWAP Rules Breached
May 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 13
May 2, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 12
May 2, RM1M Golden Handshake in Final Month as PM for Najib
Apr 30, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 11
Apr 29, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 10
Apr 29, Court Throws Out Najib’s Application to Strike Out 7 SRC Charges, Trial to Go On
Apr 25, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Nine
Apr 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Eight
Apr 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Seven
Apr 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Six
Apr 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Five
Apr 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Four
Apr 16, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Three
Apr 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Two
Apr 3, Najib Trial: Day One