KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s actions in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) debacle were consistent with innocence rather than guilt, the High Court heard.
Lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who represented the former prime minister, urged the court to think of how Najib had acted concerning the financial scandal.
“Even in areas where Yang Arif may think that the action is clumsy, but nevertheless, it is not a criminal act,” he said in closing his submissions yesterday.
The senior lawyer also said the prosecution had not shown what they meant by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or known as Jho Low, being the “mirror image” of Najib.
“Jho Low opens accounts overseas across the globe and buys properties all over the place. If he is the mirror image, then Najib would equally have the same accounts overseas.
“Why would they take the money from here, bring it across the globe, just to bring it back to the Jalan Raja Chulan AmBank?” he said.
Muhammad Shafee pleaded for the judge to make a maximum evaluation of the case, including the witnesses, as he contended that the key witnesses in the case could not be believed.
“’I spoke to Jho Low. Jho Low said he got the instructions from Najib but where is the corroboration? That is clearly hearsay. I urge that no defence ought to be called. Yang Arif must acquit and discharge on all charges,” he said.
Muhammad Shafee also told the court that the defence argument on the 25 charges being defective was “extremely strong” and urged the court to consider.
“If Yang Arif picks that point, the entire case collapses,” he said.
Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib refuted the argument by the defence that Section 41A of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 was established to politically persecute the former prime minister.
“That claim is careless and baseless. When Muhammad Shafee said that Section 41A was passed for the purpose of convicting Najib, that is totally untrue,” he said.
DPP Ahmad Akram further said that Section 41A was tabled in Parliament on April 14, 2018 by Datuk Razali Ibrahim, who was a deputy minister at the Prime Minister’s Department.
“At that time, Najib was still the prime minister. Razali was one of his own Cabinet members. The rest, I will put it in my three-page submission,” DPP Ahmad Akram said.
Najib, 71, is on trial for 25 charges in total – four for abuse of power that allegedly brought him the financial benefit to the tune of RM2.28bil and 21 for money laundering, involving the same amount of money.
The four counts of power abuse were framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the amount of gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
For the money-laundering charges under AMLATFA, the offence carries a maximum fine of RM5mil, a jail term of up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
