KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will know on March 3 if he has to continue with his criminal trial over the removal of key information from the auditor-general’s 2016 audit report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
While the High Court had previously scheduled January 30 for its decision on whether to release Najib or order him to enter his defence in this trial, it has now been rescheduled.
When contacted, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib confirmed to Malay Mail that this court decision has been “rescheduled to March 3”.
Najib is accused of having abused his position as prime minister and finance minister between February 22 and February 26, 2016 by allegedly instructing for amendments to the 1MDB audit report — which was already ready to be presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) — before it was finally presented to the PAC, in order to protect himself from civil or criminal action over his role in the handling of 1MDB operations.
Apart from Najib, former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy will also have to wait longer to find out his fate, following the rescheduling to March 3.
While he had testified as the 15th prosecution witness in Najib's trial, Arul Kanda is currently still an accused person in the same case where he had been charged with abetting or helping Najib commit the offence.
After it decides on Najib's status in this case, the High Court will be deciding on whether Arul Kanda had been a truthful witness — which would be crucial to determine whether Arul Kanda will be acquitted or if he will only be removed from this trial and possibly be put on trial before a different judge.
This trial started on November 18, 2019, with 16 prosecution witnesses having testified over 43 days before the prosecution rested its case on September 7, 2022.
After hearing final legal arguments on the case on November 15, 2022, then High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan had at that time fixed January 30 to deliver his decision on whether Najib will be ordered to enter his defence and defend himself in this case.
Mohamed Zaini was yesterday elevated to be a Court of Appeal judge.
Najib has been a prisoner for about five months now as he serves his 12-year jail term, following the Federal Court's August 23, 2022 decision to uphold his conviction over the misappropriation of RM42 million of former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.
Tomorrow, the Federal Court is set to hear Najib's bid to challenge the Federal Court's decision to uphold his conviction in the SRC case.
Separately, Akram confirmed to Malay Mail today that Najib's main 1MDB trial — where he is facing four charges of power abuse and 21 charges of money laundering over RM2.2 billion of 1MDB funds — is still scheduled to resume on January 27, 30 and 31.
