I can teach law at this point, Najib tells court
1MDB TRIAL | Former premier Najib Abdul Razak quipped that he could teach law at this point with his experience of fighting off multiple court cases over the past six years.
The former finance minister was testifying during today's RM2.27 billion abuse of power and money laundering criminal trial against him.
"Six years of this is more than a university...
Summary
Najib Abdul Razak quips he could teach law after numerous criminal and civil court cases against him.
Ex-premier testifies so during RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering trial today.
1MDB TRIAL | Former premier Najib Abdul Razak quipped that he could teach law at this point with his experience of fighting off multiple court cases over the past six years.
The former finance minister was testifying during today’s RM2.27 billion abuse of power and money laundering criminal trial against him.
“Six years of this is more than a university education.
“At this point, I feel like I could teach a course on not just criminal law, but also civil law, and even how taxation law can be abused.
“It has been an intensive, hands-on learning experience, though I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone,” the former chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers told the High Court.
Najib faced various court cases since 2018 - from criminal charges linked to 1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International to the two Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) entities’ civil suits against him.
Najib is also dealing with the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) attempt to force him to pay RM1.69 billion in alleged tax arrears at the civil court.
The 1MDB trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues this afternoon.
The 1MDB trial is usually heard in the Kuala Lumpur High Court, however, it’s being convened in Putrajaya this week.
Answerable case
On Oct 30, the criminal court ordered Najib to enter his defence over four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges involving RM2.27 billion of funds from troubled sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
Sequerah ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie (answerable) case against Najib over the MOF Inc wholly owned company.
The judge ruled that Najib had to answer the charges due to the strength of the various 50 witness testimonies during the prosecution stage of proceedings that lasted six years since the trial began in 2019. The accused was first charged in 2018.
Since the prima facie ruling, Najib has been testifying in his defence against the 1MDB criminal charges.
Najib disputes ruling on power abuse charges
During today’s trial, Najib disputed the court’s finding that the four abuse of power charges were valid and properly constituted.
“Yes, with all due respect, I am disputing that ruling because, when Your Honour (Sequerah) made that determination, Your Honour had yet to hear my evidence.
“Now, as I present my evidence, Your Honour can hear directly from me how these charges are both prejudicial and misleading.
“I firmly believe, supported by the views of my lawyers, that the way these charges have been drafted goes far beyond a mere technical error or omission,” he testified.
“As a result, I view the four abuse of power charges as fundamentally unfair and overwhelmingly prejudicial against me,” Najib added.
‘Case constructed on manufactured allegations’
The former Pekan MP pointed out that the criminal charges were confusing because they allegedly do not clearly indicate what interest he purportedly had in the subject matter of the case.
Najib questioned whether the prosecution was trying to say he had an interest in 1MDB, AmBank where his bank account was, or Petrosaudi International Limited which was involved in a joint venture with 1MDB.
“This characterisation of a ‘new species of interest’ is entirely fabricated, without precedent or basis in law, and has never been recognised in any abuse of power case in the history of our legal system.
“Its introduction in this case appears to be a desperate attempt by the MACC and the prosecution to create an interest where none exists, merely to fit their narrative and unfairly implicate me,” he said.
Najib lamented that this represents a malicious and politically motivated prosecution of the worst kind.
“It demonstrates the extent to which this case has been constructed not on solid legal grounds but on manufactured allegations designed to undermine me,” he added.
Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar prosecuted.
Najib was represented by lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin.
