This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 22, 2019 - November 28, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore case has objected to the former premier’s request for copies of documents given by whistle-blower and former PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) executive Xavier Andre Justo to the authorities.

This was affirmed by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki in an affidavit to the application that was filed in the High Court on Wednesday. This was confirmed by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Mustafa P Kunyalam.

Najib’s lawyers Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Al Firdaus Shahrul Naing told Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah that as a result of Azam’s affidavit, they would have to file an affidavit in reply latest by Tuesday.

The parties had initially agreed to Jan 6 as the hearing date for the application. However, Muhammad Shafee asked for Najib’s application to be heard before that date, preferably before Christmas.

Hence, Justice Sequerah agreed to hear the application on Dec 13, which incidentally was earlier fixed as the case management date for the 1MDB-Tanore case.

Azam, in his affidavit, said the authorities received the document from Justo in official confidence.

“Hence, this is protected under Section 124 of the Evidence Act.”

Section 124 of the Evidence Act stipulates that no public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence when he considers that the public interest would suffer by the disclosure.

It provides that the court may require the head of the department of the officer to certify in writing whether or not such disclosure would be detrimental to the public interest and, if the head of the department certifies that such disclosure would not be prejudicial to the public interest, then the officer shall disclose the communications.

It was reported last month during the 1MDB-Tanore trial that Najib, through Muhammad Shafee, had asked for the prosecution to supply the documents that had been provided by Justo.

Justo had gone to meet the MACC in Putrajaya on May 24 last year, and on June 26, 2018, he was interviewed by the commission.

The Swiss national was the whistle-blower who had in February 2015 give documents related to PSI to The Edge and Sarawak Report, which helped in the 1MDB exposés.

Najib is facing four charges of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering in relation to RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds.