Najib’s 1MDB trial won’t resume today due to SRC trial spillover, but could continue tomorrow afternoon

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial will not be resuming today as his separate trial over ex-1MDB unit SRC International Sdn Bhd’s RM42 million funds has yet to conclude.

Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informed the High Court today that the SRC trial may have to spillover to tomorrow, as the defence team may call two additional witnesses: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Senior Assistant Commissioner Rosli Hussain and former senior Education Ministry officer Kamarudin Abdullah.

“And the possibility of another witness which is a surprise witness... from MOF, to testify on a matter directly relevant to protocol in SRC matter in MOF. This is Kamarudin Abdullah, so we got to know about it through yesterday in his testimony in Datin Seri Rosmah’s case... We will have to call him, if he is available today then good, we will go through no matter how late, that is the situation,” Shafee told the judge hearing the 1MDB case.

Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, who is leading the 1MDB prosecution team, informed the judge that he would be handling a separate matter at the Federal Court tomorrow morning.

Having been updated by Shafee on the current status of the SRC trial and by Sri Ram of his availability, High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah then said the “best of scenarios” may be that Najib’s 1MDB trial could resume tomorrow afternoon.

Yesterday, Sequerah vacated the previously scheduled trial date for the 1MDB case to give way for the SRC trial which was already at its tail end with the 16th and 17th defence witnesses set to testify.

Today, the 17th defence witness in the SRC trial — former MACC chief Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad — is set to be cross-examined by the prosecution.

The two additional witnesses mentioned by Shafee would be testifying after Dzulkifli if called to appear in the SRC trial.

For the 1MDB trial, the High Court had previously fixed trial dates from March 11 (today) to 13, 19 to 20, 23 to 27 and 30 to 31 inclusive of Friday, the entire month of April, May 4 to 8, 11 to 15 and 18 to 22 inclusive of Fridays, as well as June until October inclusive of Fridays.

On trial dates that fall on Fridays when Muslims must perform mandatory prayers, Sequerah had previously said proceedings would be adjourned earlier at noon.

Najib’s 1MDB case related to over RM2 billion of 1MDB funds involves 25 charges, namely four counts of power abuse and 21 counts of money laundering.

After the proceedings before Sequerah ended, Najib left for a separate courtroom in the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex for his SRC trial that is heard before High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.