KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): The grounds of judgement, for the decision that allows for the additional testimony of one of the prosecution’s star witnesses in Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's completed graft case, are still pending.
Rosmah's lawyer Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader informed the High Court on Friday that the appellate court has yet to provide the full grounds, and thus, the matter cannot proceed for the time being.
On Sept 17, a three-member Court of Appeal (COA) panel led by Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, who sat with Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing and K Muniandy, had allowed Rosmah's application to adduce fresh evidence pertaining to Rayyan Radzwill Abdullah, on the grounds that the new evidence targets the heart of the charges levelled against Rosmah — specifically, on whether she had actively solicited or received gratification, which could change the High Court’s findings.
The COA panel then ordered a High Court judge to take the evidence.
Following that, the prosecution filed an appeal, and the court granted a stay until the appeal is exhausted at the apex court.
High Court judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin is the judge who will preside over the recording of the testimony.
During the second case management on Friday, Akberdin said that because the grounds were not ready, even the prosecution could not file their petition of appeal containing the grounds of their appeal.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam confirmed the matter.
The court has now set Jan 14 for the case to be called up next.
This application is in relation to the solar hybrid project for rural schools in Sarawak.
In September 2022, Rosmah, who is the wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was found guilty on all three counts of graft and was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and fined a whopping RM970 million — the largest amount ever imposed by the High Court for a graft case.
The 74-year-old was found guilty of soliciting and receiving bribes from Saidi Abang Samsudin, the managing director of Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, the company which had secured the project. Rayyan was Saidi’s business partner at the material time.
The appeal proper has yet to begin, given all the interlocutory applications and appeals.
Specifically in this application, Rosmah wants to admit Rayyan’s police report lodged on July 10 this year, and a statutory declaration dated the same, where the prosecution’s 16th witness claims that his witness statement did not encapsulate all that he had wanted to convey, and when he pointed this out to the prosecution, he claims the late Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram had intimidated him to follow the prosecution’s narrative.