Najib 1mdb Trial Day 2 Judge Denies Defence S Request To End Daily Hearings At 4 30pm

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The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged abuse of power and laundering of 1MDB funds enters its second day at the Kuala Lumpur High Court
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings
Summary of Najib’s 1MDB ‘donation’ caseNajib is facing 25 charges of receiving RM2.28b, which originated from 1MDB through Tanore Finance Corp, a company owned by Eric Tan, a close associate of fugitive businessperson Jho Low
21 money laundering charges4 abuse of power chargesClick to view information on judge, prosecution and defence teamKEY HIGHLIGHTSJudge denies defence's request to end daily hearings at 4.30pmNajib's special officer and 1MDB personalities appointed to its energy subsidiaryWitness: MACC asked information on four local companiesSSM officer identifies TIA/1MDB registration documentsJudge rejects prosecution's request to adjourn trial to next weekNajib gave cheque to help the poor Malays in Batu Kawan - NoorI received RM100k party contribution from Najib: Batu Kawan Umno chiefBatu Kawan Umno division chief takes the standNajib didn’t issue cheques directly to prevent circulation on FB - witnessJudge denies defence's request to end daily hearings at 4.30pm4.05pm - As the court returns from a short break, the defence makes a request to shorten daily hearings as the accused Najib Abdul Razak could not sit on the wooden plank bench throughout the entire proceedings
The request comes as the judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah (photo) declines DPP Mustaffa P Kunyalam's request to cut short today's session at 4.30pm
Lead defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah rises from his seat to make a similar request
Shafee first cites documentation issues as a reason for the judge to consider shortening today's hearing, before going into his client's health issue
"But more critical is that my client (had been) sitting on a pure plank...almost everyday
"As soon as Yang Arif allowed for adjournment (just now), he had to do some stretching, if not it’s going to get worse," he tells the judge
Shafee also adds that he had raised similar issue at Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali's court, where Najib is facing another criminal trial related to SRC International
Sequerah said he can only allow for the court to be adjourned at 4.45pm today
Shafee then makes another request, asking the judge to consider setting the end time for future daily hearings at 4.30pm
The judge denied the request but tells the lawyer that he (Sequerah) can consider allowing periodical breaks if required
Najib's special officer and 1MDB personalities appointed to its energy subsidiary3.38pm - The Kuala Lumpur High Court hears today that then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's special officer Wan Ahmad Shihab Ismail Wan Ismail was made a director in Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd, an energy producer that 1MDB purchased from tycoon Ananda Krishnan, in early March 2012
The court also hears that two personalities linked to 1MDB, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Terence Geh Choh Heng, were also appointed as Tanjong Energy Holdings' managing director and CEO (Shahrol), and deputy chief financial officer (Geh)
Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) officer Rafidah Yahya confirms this during examination-in-chief by DPP Mustaffa P Kunyalam in regards to the company's Form 49, which has details of its directorship
Mustaffa: In Tanjong Energy Holdings, Ahmad Ismail Wan Ismail, the special officer to prime minister (Najib) was made director on May 22, 2012, as well as Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi being made managing director and CEO, and the appointment of (Terence) Geh Choh Heng as director (on May 22, 2012)
Rafidah: Correct
Witness: MACC asked information on four local companies2.45pm - The court hears from Companies Commission officer Rafidah Yahaya (photo) that the MACC had made another request for information on four companies last year to facilitate their investigation into the 1MDB scandal
She says that the request was made by MACC officer Shahrul Nizam Abdul Aziz on April 22, 2019
The companies include Powertek Investment Holding Sdn Bhd, Merpati Energy (Langat) Sdn Bhd, and Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd
Rafidah tells the court that she then processed the request and printed out documents needed by MACC and handed them to the officer
Under examination-in-chief by DPP Mustaffa P Kunyalam, the witness then continues with identifying the documents in court for the purpose of tendering them as prosecution's evidence
2.42pm - Proceedings resume.
1pm - The court breaks for lunch until 2.30pm
Companies Commission officer Rafidah Yahaya is expected to return to the witness stand to continue her testimony
SSM officer identifies TIA/1MDB registration documents12.05pm - The prosecution calls its eighth witness, Companies Commission (SSM) officer Rafidah Yahaya to testify in court
DPP Mustaffa P Kunyalam conducts the examination-in-chief on the witness
Rafidah starts her testimony by identifying documents that she had surrendered to MACC on May 28, 2018, including business registration certificate for Terengganu Investment Authority Berhad, which was later known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad
Judge rejects prosecution's request to adjourn trial to next week11.30am - After the prosecution's sixth witness Mohd Noor Ahmad is released from the stand, lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram makes a request to the court to adjourn today's proceedings
He informs the court that the prosecution is expecting a lengthy session to conduct examination on the seventh witness, as there are 177 documents to be tendered with the witness
"If it is convenient to My Lordship, we would like to take it to Tuesday morning," says Sri Ram
Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah, however, is not keen to adjourn the trial
He says they have already lost "several days", referring to the trial's postponements in the past few weeks
"We will start today. We already lost several days
"I’m sure it will spill to Tuesday," says the judge
Sequerah then allows for a short break for the prosecution to prepare for the next witness. Najib gave cheque to help the poor Malays in Batu Kawan - Noor 11.20am - The court hears from Batu Kawan Umno division chief Mohd Noor Ahmad that a sum of RM100,000 which the division received from then party president Najib Abdul Razak in 2013 was used to conduct activities to help those in need in the constituency
The witness, testifying under cross-examination by defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (photo), agrees to the lawyer's suggestion that the Malays in Penang were among the less fortunate in the country compared to other states
He also agrees that the Malays in the northern state were in need of such assistance for their livelihood
Shafee: One more question. Although I myself am also from Penang... would you agree that the economical state of the Malays in Penang is not very good
Mohd Noor: Yes, I agree
Shafee: In Malaysia, one of the states where (the Malays) are still being left behind (economically) is Penang
Mohd Noor: Agree
Shafee: And they need assistance to uplift their livelihood
Mohd Noor: True
Shafee: And during that time when you received the funds from Najib, the Penang state government was not under Barisan Nasional
Mohd Noor: Yes
Shafee: And you received this donation to help the people in Batu Kawan
Mohd Noor: True
The witness also testifies that the Umno division's bank account had been frozen by the authorities for about a year over the case
I received RM100k party contribution from Najib: Batu Kawan Umno chief11.05am - Batu Kawan Umno division chief Mohd Noor Ahmad (photo) testifies that he received an RM100,000 cheque as a contribution to the division from then party president Najib Abdul Razak at the Prime Minister's Office on Aug 6, 2013
The sixth witness says this during examination-in-chief by DPP Najwa Bistamam
“I informed the party president, who was also then prime minister, at the Prime Minister's office," he says
"It was on Aug 6, 2013," Noor says in relation to a cheque made out by Najib to the party division as a contribution
The cheque, dated Aug 7, 2013, is a subject matter of one of the 21 charges of money laundering against Najib in the RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial
Batu Kawan Umno division chief takes the stand11am - Former political secretary to Najib Abdul Razak, Wong Nai Chee, finishes his testimony and is released from the witness stand
The prosecution now calls in their sixth witness, Batu Kawan Umno division Mohd Noor Ahmad, to testify in court
Najib didn’t issue cheques directly to prevent circulation on FB - witness10.15am - Najib Abdul Razak's former political secretary Wong Nai Chee testifies that the former prime minister did not issue cheques directly to two entities to prevent it from being circulated on Facebook
During examination-in-chief, the fifth witness tells lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram (photo) that the cheques were instead issued to activist Lim Soon Peng, and he relayed them to Akademi Kewartawanan and Informasi, and AD Network
The first recipient is involved in the publication of a Chinese weekly, while AD Network is the administrator of the Ah Jib Gor Facebook page
"If a personal cheque issued by the PM (Najib), we do not want it to circulate on Facebook
"We would rather pay someone whom we trusted, so he (Lim) can pay (to the two entities)," Wong says
Among the cheques issued was a payment for RM246,000 by Najib on Aug 7, 2013
10.05am - The proceedings begin with the prosecution calling their fifth witness, Najib’s former political secretary Wong Nai Chee (photo)
9.30am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery to await the beginning of proceedings
Also seen in court is his lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, and lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram
Najib and his defence lawyers had attended another matter before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan earlier this morning
As Najib Abdul Razak’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial enters its second day today, a line has been drawn in the sand between the prosecution and the former prime minister’s defence team
Yesterday, lead DPP and former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram’s opening statement described an alleged “elaborate charade” to enrich the accused with the purported collusion of his “mirror image” and wanted businessperson Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low
Not to be perturbed, Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah yesterday declared that the prosecution still needed to prove that the former premier knew that the funds originated from troubled sovereign fund 1MDB, instead of a donation from a “Saudi King” as claimed by the accused
As each side establishes their respective positions, the hearing before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah may see at least two witnesses being called to testify today
This includes Najib’s former political secretary, Wong Nai Chee and Batu Kawan Umno division chief Mohd Noor Ahmad. - Mkini

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