KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, who is facing a charge for not abiding by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) notice to declare 12 of her purported assets, had on Friday obtained her passport from the Sessions Court to facilitate her trip to Shanghai for a work-related matter next week.
This is Na’imah’s fourth application to obtain her passport after the court allowed her to go on trips to London, Switzerland, Singapore and Venice, since her passport was impounded after she was charged in January this year.
Her counsel Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid, who appeared with Rajesh Nagarajan, asked Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi for Na’imah’s passport to be released temporarily.
“This follows that she has a working trip to China to attend an art exhibition,” Nizamuddin said.
It is understood that Na’imah, who is the wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, wanted to attend an art exhibition in Shanghai and look into the possibility of bringing it to Malaysia.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry said the prosecution has no objection to the application provided that she return the passport to court 48 hours after her return.
Nizamuddin said his client had affirmed an affidavit that she would return on Sept 9 and would return the passport immediately.
Following this, Azura allowed Na’imah’s application and ordered her passport to be returned 48 hours after her trip.
Na’imah had previously applied to the High Court in March for her passport to be returned unconditionally, but this was rejected by judge Datuk Ahmad Bache, who cited she could be a flight risk.
Subsequently, she is appealing against the High Court's decision, and that application is fixed for Sept 10 at the Court of Appeal.
Among the 12 assets which she allegedly did not declare include a Mercedes-Benz EQC400 and 500 SL AUTO series, seven properties in Kuala Lumpur and one in Penang, and Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd.
Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd is the owner of Ilham Tower, and the company’s majority shares are owned by Ilham Baru, which in turn is fully owned by Daim’s wife and two of his children.
The single charge was framed under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act, and carries a punishment of a maximum of five years imprisonment and a fine not exceeding RM100,000.