KUALA LUMPUR (June 4): Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah tried to impress on High Court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin, who is presiding the International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) trial, to possibly defer the trial which is to take place this month and next month to allow the ongoing 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial to finish first.
Shafee told Jamil that his client, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, besides facing the 1MDB-Tanore trial, is also facing the SRC International Sdn Bhd civil suit, and his fifth criminal trial in the SRC International's RM27 million money laundering case which was given the least priority.
“The prosecution had closed the stage to its 1MDB case last Friday, and we are given one month to prepare the written submission for that matter.
“The 1MDB is the biggest criminal case involving a white collar crime of its nature which we have been facing almost on a daily basis. My entire team is exhausted [from 1MDB] but we are prepared to finish our written submissions in July. This [1MDB] case is distracting me as a lot of work is to be done. There are many issues there, some even common to this case,” he said, adding that this court could possibly await the outcome of the 1MDB-Tanore case.
Shafee wants Jamil to consider a longer adjournment than the 30 days that had originally been fixed for the IPIC trial this month and next month by taking another date.
“We [Najib’s defence team] are hampered with dates for this trial to begin. I am however, in your lordship’s hands. If we adjourn this case, maybe we can allocate days in between.
“Otherwise we have to wait until 2025 and I am confident [the 1MDB] case can finish by 2026,” the senior lawyer representing the ex-PM added.
The 1MDB-Tanore trial is fixed for oral submissions before Court of Appeal judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah who is presiding the trial, on Aug 19-22.
Following the oral submissions, Sequerah would decide on whether Najib has a case to answer for or in other words, the former prime minister’s defence is called or acquit him of all four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges of 1MDB funds.
Shafee’s remarks on Tuesday that the 1MDB-Tanore trial may end in 2026 was possibly in anticipation that Najib’s defence could be called in what he termed himself “as the biggest white collar criminal crime” of its nature possibly for all or some of the 25 charges which his client is facing.
However, in the end Jamil only allowed Najib and former Treasurer secretary general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, who is also jointly charged with six counts of criminal breach of trust of RM6.6 billion government funds paid to IPIC in 2017, two weeks adjournment and ordered the case to begin on June 19 (Wednesday).