Day 77 Defence Says That Ex Minister Jamil Khir Baharom Will Testify Tomorrow

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The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd enters day 77 today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings
Summary of Najib’s SRC RM42 million caseNajib is facing 7 charges relating to RM42m involving SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary
1 abuse of power charge3 criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges3 money laundering chargesClick to view information on judge, prosecution and defence teamKEY HIGHLIGHTSDefence says that ex-minister Jamil Khir Baharom will testify tomorrowEx-ambassador says Najib informed him of financial aid from Saudi kingFormer-ambassador 'don't know' if Saudi money is political interferenceEx-foreign minister Anifah Aman among next defence witnesses - Shafee'King Abdullah promised financial aid to Najib for GE13'Former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia takes the stand.Thank you for following Malaysiakini's live report1.30pm - Thank you for following our live report today
Defence says that ex-minister Jamil Khir Baharom will testify tomorrow12.21pm - Former minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom will take the stand tomorrow in the defence stage of Najib Abdul Razak's RM42 million SRC International trial
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali was informed this by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah at the end of proceedings today
Shafee also informs the court that the defence will seek to try call former foreign minister Anifah Aman to the witness stand by Wednesday or Thursday this week
Earlier, Shafee (photo) had wrapped up his re-examination of former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Syed Omar Syed Mohammad Al Saggaf
The defence counsel also tells the court that the defence will be making an application to obtain certain statements of witnesses who cannot be traced, such as former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil
Previously, it was reported that the court heard that MACC had recorded a statement from Nik Faisal before he disappeared
Nik Faisal was also the person authorised with the mandate to deal with Najib's bank accounts which were allegedly involved in the receiving of RM42 million from SRC International
Nazlan then sets Monday next week to hear the application in relation to the statement
The judge also allows proceedings to adjourn for today and to resume around 9am tomorrow
Ex-ambassador says Najib informed him of financial aid from Saudi king11.56am - Former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Syed Omar Syed Mohammad al Saggaf testifies that it was then premier Najib Abdul Razak who him that then Saudi King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud promised financial aid for the accused in relation to GE13
The fourth defence witness makes this admission during cross-examination by DPP V Sithambaram
Sithambaram is questioning Syed Omar whether the witness has personal knowledge about the financial that was allegedly promised by King Abdullah to Najib for use in GE13
Earlier, Syed Omar had testified that after an unofficial meeting between a Malaysian delegation led by Najib and Saudi ruler King Abdullah on Jan 11, 2010, the former ambassador said that he was made to understand that King Abdullah promised the aid to Najib
The Malaysian 13th general election was held in 2013
Sithambaram: You personally did not hear what was spoken to each other (King Abdullah and Najib), what you (Syed Omar) said in your witness statement, you do not have personal knowledge of the facts in relation to the general election
Syed Omar: No
Sithambaram: You later learned about it
Syed Omar: From Najib, as we were leaving the hall where the meeting was (in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
Former-ambassador 'don't know' if Saudi money is political interference11.45pm - "I do not know," says Former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Syed Omar Syed Mohammad al Saggaf when testifying on whether Saudi Arabia had promised of financial aid to Malaysia for GE 13, which amounted to foreign interference in Malaysia's domestic affairs
The fourth defence witness' answer comes to a question from DPP V Sithambaram during cross-examination
Earlier during the examination-in-chief stage of proceedings this morning, Syed Omar testified that he was made to understand that then Saudi ruler King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud had promised financial aid to then premier Najib Abdul Razak for the general election
Syed Omar had testified that he was given this understanding after an informal meeting between a Najib-led delegation and King Abdullah at Riyadh on Jan 11, 2010
He told the court that the informal meeting was done just before Najib's official visit to Saudi Arabia that month in January 2010
In earlier proceedings, Najib's defence had relied on the notion that the RM42 million, that flowed into Najib's account between December 2014 and Feb 2015, was part of a RM2.6 billion donation from the Saudi Arabian royal family
Among the reasons cited for this alleged donation was to help the then BN government in relation to the 13th General Election in 2013
Sithambaram: I put it to you that if the prime minister (Najib) leading the government (delegation in Saudi Arabia) received a donation for election purposes then it would be an interference by a foreign government in Malaysia's affairs
Syed Omar: I do not know
Proceedings resume after one-hour break11.36am - Proceedings resume
10.28am - Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali allows DPP V Sithambaram's application for an hour break
The judge grants this application as the prosecution was served this morning with an amended copy of former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Syed Omar Syed Mohammad Al Saggaf's witness statement
The prosecution seeks the one-hour break to help them prepare for cross-examination
They were served with the unamended version of the witness statement last night
Earlier, lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had wrapped up a brief examination-in-chief of Syed Omar, who is the fourth defence witness in Najib Abdul Razak's RM42 million SRC International trial
Ex-foreign minister Anifah Aman among next defence witnesses - Shafee10.25am - Former foreign minister Anifah Aman and former minister in the prime minister's department Jamil Khir Baharom are next in line to testify for Najib Abdul Razak's defence, the High Court hears
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informs Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali that these are the potential new defence witnesses that could be called during the trial this week
This week's schedule for the trial is set from today to Thursday
Shafee reveals this after he has wrapped up his examination-in-chief of former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Syed Omar Syed Mohammad al Saggaf
Earlier, fourth defence witness Syed Omar testified that Jamil Khir and Anifah was present in the Malaysian delegation, along with then premier Najib, during an unofficial meeting with then Saudi ruler King Abdullah on Jan 11, 2010
'King Abdullah promised financial aid to Najib for GE13'9.52am - The court hears that then Saudi ruler King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud promised financial aid to then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak for the 13th General Election
Former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Syed Omar Syed Mohammad Al Saggaf testifies that he was made to understand this during an unofficial meeting between a Najib-led delegation and King Abdullah on Jan 11, 2010, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
While reading out from a witness statement, the fourth defence witness says that the unofficial meeting took place just before Najib's official visit to Saudi Arabia a few days later in January 2010
"After the meeting (Jan 11, 2010), I was made to understand that King Abdullah promised to send financial aid to Najib for management of politics linked to the upcoming elections (GE13)," Syed Omar says during examination-in-chief by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah
Syed Omar says that earlier in the meeting, King Abdullah expresses admiration on how Malaysia was managed as a country and was concerned with any potential effect from the tumult that triggered the Arab Spring in the middle east
Former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi Arabia takes the stand9.27am - The fourth defence witness, Syed Omar Syed Mohammad Al Saggaf, 76, was a former Malaysian ambassador to Saudi, Arabia takes the witness stand
He will read out from a written Witness Statement
He was the Malaysian ambassador to the Middle Eastern kingdom from September 2008 to September 2013
9.24am - Accused Najib Abdul Razak enters the dock as proceedings begin
Also seen in court is the former prime minister's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah
9am - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak enters the Kuala Lumpur High Court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery
Also in court awaiting proceedings to begin is Attorney-General Tommy Thomas, DPP V Sithambaram (photo) and other DPPs, as well as members of Najib's defence team
A former ambassador of Malaysia to Saudi Arabia, Syed Omar Syed Mohammad Al Saggaf, may be set to testify on the 77th day of Najib Abdul Razak’s RM42 million SRC International trial today
The former dignitary is understood to be the potential fourth witness in the defence stage of former prime minister Najib’s hearing of seven counts of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million from SRC
At the end of previous proceedings on Wednesday last week, the accused’s defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh informed the Kuala Lumpur High Court that they would be interviewing the fourth witness to prepare for today’s trial
During Wednesday’s proceedings, the court among others heard from the third witness, former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, that it usually takes over a month for the process to apply for a government guarantee for loans
During the prosecution stage of the trial last year, prosecution witness Maliami Hamad, who was a former senior finance ministry officer, testified that orders came from then finance minister Najib through intermediaries to rush the processing of SRC's application for a government guarantee for the billions of ringgit in loans from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) to SRC
The cabinet approved a government guarantee for a RM2 billion loan from KWAP to SRC in late 2011 and a second government guarantee for another RM2 billion loan from the pensioners' fund to the company in early 2012
Formerly under troubled sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, SRC later came under the full ownership of the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc) in early 2012
This morning’s proceedings before Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali is expected to resume around 9am. - Mkini

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