This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 30, 2024 - January 12, 2025

ORDERED to enter his defence against four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has so far spent his first two weeks on the witness stand in December insisting that he had no knowledge that funds in his account were part of the billions of dollars stolen from the state-owned company and everyone, including fugitive Low Taek Jho, the 1MDB board and management had failed to carry out their duties.

At the same time, Najib continued to insist that the billions of ringgit that he received into his personal bank accounts were personal donations from the Saudi Arabia royal family.

Najib pointed out that despite the international scrutiny regarding the multibillion-dollar scandal, there has not been any official denial from the Royal Household of Saudi Arabia refuting that these funds were a donation from the late King Abdullah.

“This absence of a denial is significant, as it aligns with the established norms of monarchies to address unfounded claims and further supports my genuine belief that the funds were legitimate donations,” Najib testified before trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah who at the end of October ruled that the prosecution had established a prima-facie against the 71-year-old accused. Najib is already serving time in Kajang prison for crimes committed against 1MDB subsidiary, SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Najib has repeated numerous times that the donations were in recognition of his contribution to the Islamic world, without any expectations for the monies to be returned. 

On the stand, Najib also reiterated that he had nothing to hide as the funds were utilised for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects and the unused sum of US$620 million, out of the US$680 million received, was returned to the sender.

Notwithstanding his claims, Najib has yet to tender any documentary evidence to the court, apart from four “Arab donation letters” that were allegedly from the former governor of Madinah Province, Saud Abdulaziz Majid Al Saud, dated between 2011 and 2014. As the trial progresses, he may do so. Now in hiding, Low is believed to be the mastermind behind the billions of dollars stolen from 1MDB and SRC.

Reiterating that he had nothing to hide, Najib pointed out that if it was his intention to misuse the state strategic development company’s funds, he could have opted for an offshore account, away from scrutiny rather than open an account locally.

“This was one of my intentions in setting up a local bank account under my personal name to receive the donation in Malaysia where I would probably be ranked the highest in the list of politically exposed persons in Malaysia.

“It was for transparency, which was also the reason my political spending of the donations was transacted almost entirely through cheques,” he testified.

Najib also repeated that neither Ambank, which housed his accounts, nor the central bank, had ever reached out to him, alerting him that anything was amiss in regards to his accounts.

It is worth noting that in ordering Najib to enter his defence, Sequerah had observed that given the “enormous sum” of monies going into his accounts, it was incumbent on the former prime minister to check the source of his funds. Sequerah also found that Najib was “wilfully blind” as he failed to make enquiries into the origin of these monies, “when the circumstances were such that he ought to have done so”.

The court had also found the Arab donation letters to be dubious.

On the stand, Najib also testified that fugitive Low was not his representative in 1MDB matters. Calling him a “slightly pudgy young man” Najib said Low was remarkably charismatic and could seamlessly navigate influential circles. He reiterated that it was his belief that Low was present in many 1MDB-related matters as a spokesperson or conduit of the Middle-Eastern parties involved. And as Low was so well-connected, Najib said his presence didn’t raise eyebrows.

“At the time, I had no reason to doubt his intentions or actions. My interactions with him were always guided by what I believed to be in the best interests of Malaysia,” he testified.

It is the prosecution’s case that Low was Najib’s “mirror image” and that the two had worked hand in glove to siphon money out of 1MDB. However, Najib maintained that Low had exploited his trust and colluded with management to orchestrate the scam.

He also testified that “lying individuals” of 1MDB’s then senior management — which included CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, general counsel Jasmine Loo and chief financial officer Azmi Tahir — were trying to pin the blame on him to escape legal repercussions. Najib also repeated that many of these people accepted monies from Low but had escaped legal action.

He also denied that there was a “top-down” approach in 1MDB, as claimed by several witnesses who stated that he was the apex power broker. Najib said the company’s board of directors (BoD) were at liberty to decide on what was best for the company without any constraints or consequences from Minister of Finance (MoF) Inc. 1MDB came under MoF Inc’s purview, although Najib was effectively helming MoF Inc because he was also the finance minister.

Najib described his approvals of the company’s deals and transactions as a “formal approval process” based on the reasonable assumption that management and the board had fully carried out their fiduciary duties to study the necessary nitty-gritty of the deals that 1MDB had proposed to enter into.

He said the misappropriation of the monies “[was] directly connected to the execution of those proposals and not because of such approvals themselves”.

Najib testified that he did not ignore allegations against wrongdoings in 1MDB because the authorities started investigations in 2014 while he was still prime minister. He added that there were additional factors he had to consider as the head of government then, before taking further action.

“[There are] responsibilities and considerations required of a prime minister managing complex domestic and international relationships while ensuring thorough investigations. A layman’s consideration is [of] a diffracted view because it was viewed on an entirely different prism from that of a prime minister,” he remarked.

Sequerah had previously said his prima facie finding of a case had also been influenced by the testimonies of former Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah and The Edge Media Group chairman Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong that concerns raised with Najib over Low’s involvement in 1MDB and the company’s mounting problems and debts went unheeded.

As at the end of December, Najib was almost done reading from over 600 pages of testimony, which his lawyers have highlighted was taken under trying circumstances, given that he is in jail.

When the trial resumes on Jan 6, Najib is expected to continue to testify.

Trial dates have been locked in until next November, with almost full-month proceedings from January to March, which could accelerate the pace of the already protracted trial.

Najib’s defence team, led by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, has indicated that it plans to call 20-odd witnesses to testify on his behalf.

It is also worth noting that Sequerah, who is now an appellate court judge, is set to retire in 2026.

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