PUTRAJAYA, Jan 21 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today denied that Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s 2015 termination as attorney-general was due to rumoured plans to charge him as the then prime minister, also denying that it was related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Najib said this while testifying in his own trial over his alleged money laundering of over RM2 billion 1MDB funds which had allegedly entered his private AmIslamic bank accounts in 2013.
Today, deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar asked Najib if he recalled that draft charges against him were exposed in the media sometime in 2015.
Najib replied: “I don’t really remember but I heard there were rumours.”
“But I myself did not check,” Najib said of these rumours of plans to charge him.
Kamal noted that Abdul Gani was then fired from his position as attorney general and public prosecutor, but Najib disagreed that the latter was sacked, saying: “He had a few problems, including health problems.”
As for Najib’s previous court testimony that he had recommended Abdul Gani to be a Federal Court judge, he said today that he had not discussed such plans with Gani, but confirmed that the “process” then had started.
Najib said Abdul Gani did not pass the process to be a Federal Court judge, but maintained that he wanted the latter to become a Federal Court judge. Najib did not elaborate what this “process” was.
When asked why there was a need to remove Abdul Gani from the attorney general position if he did not end up becoming a Federal Court judge, Najib merely replied again: “Because he has certain problems including health problems.”
Najib agreed that his own court testimony previously did not mention Abdul Gani’s health problems as a reason.
Kamal Baharin then cited late former Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa’s testimony in a separate trial against Najib over the alleged tampering of the auditor-general’s 1MDB audit report.
In that separate trial, Ali Hamsa had said he had personally handed over the termination letter to Abdul Gani, with Ali Hamsa testifying that Abdul Gani’s service was terminated as Najib had lost trust (hilang kepercayaan) towards Abdul Gani.
But Najib denied this, saying: “No, not true. If I had no trust, I would not try to elevate him as judge.”
Kamal Baharin: The termination of Tan Sri Abdul Gani’s service as attorney general actually was connected to the proposal to charge you?
Najib: No, disagree.
Abdul Gani’s tenure as attorney general ended on July 27, 2015, months before he reached his compulsory retirement age in October 2015.
A few days after Abdul Gani’s tenure ended, the alleged draft charges against Najib emerged online. Abdul Gani’s successor Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali — whom Najib previously denied had “closed the 1MDB case” — on July 31, 2015 said the alleged draft charges were false.
In his first public appearance in November 2015, Abdul Gani said he was already on dialysis when he was still the AG and that he was functioning well.
Abdul Gani was on December 23, 2016 called to the Malaysian Bar, where he was described as having been a “tireless, conscientious and diligent” attorney general who worked long hours despite going through dialysis treatment. He remains a lawyer in private practice until today.
Najib disagreed that the July 2015 removal of Abdul Gani, the August 2016 removal of Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief resulted in obstructions to a special task force on 1MDB which had been chaired by Abdul Gani.
Najib said the investigations on 1MDB had continued on, and said the task force was not dissolved as he argued it was allegedly invalid from the start: “The power to set up the task force is not the attorney general’s powers, if the current AG sets up a taskforce, that is invalid, there’s no law that covers it, no regulations that cover it.”
Among other things, Najib disagreed that 1MDB matters were for his own benefit and advantage, disagreeing that 1MDB did not provide any benefit, interest or advantage to Malaysia.
While agreeing that 1MDB was heavily in debts including having more than RM40 billion of debts by May 2015, Najib later also argued that 1MDB also had many assets and allegedly much contributions to the country “although there were matters that should not have happened” but did happen.
Today is Najib’s 21st day on the witness stand in the 1MDB trial.
The prosecution today completed its cross-examination of Najib, having spent 10 days doing so.
Najib’s 1MDB trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes tomorrow, with his lawyers expected to start re-examining him.
On January 10, Najib’s lawyer Tania Scivetti had said the defence currently plans to call in about 20 more defence witnesses, but said the final figure is yet to be confirmed.
MORE TO COME
