KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak is "extremely disappointed" with the prima facie ruling from the High Court that requires him to enter his defence in the RM2.28bil 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case.
Najib's lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said both he and his client were very disappointed, as the defence presented arguments they believed warranted serious consideration.
He said this when met outside the main door of the Kuala Lumpur court complex on Wednesday (Oct 30).
Muhammad Shafee also expressed surprise that this was the only case where he could not win on a single point at this stage.
"I couldn't even win a shred of cotton, let alone the whole garment," he added.
Muhammad Shafee then said that he and his team would prepare for the defence.
"We are not giving up; we are going to fight this. We are more determined because of the decision today," he said.
When asked about his client's apology last week, Muhammad Shafee said that Najib did not apologise for the 1MDB scandal to get a favourable outcome from the court and added that some have misunderstood the apology.
“He apologised because the 1MDB debacle happened during watch. He's not saying that he did it. if you're the head of the government and a bad thing happens during your watch, you apologise. That's what he did," said Muhammad Shafee.
Last Thursday (Oct 24), Najib publicly apologised to all Malaysians over the 1MDB scandal during his tenure as prime minister and finance minister.
In a statement read by his son Datuk Mohd Nizar Najib at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex where his trial is currently being held, Najib said he decided to make the statement after much reflection during his 26 months in jail for his conviction in the RM42mil SRC International Sdn Bhd graft trial and following significant recent developments relating to 1MDB.
“It pains me to know the 1MDB debacle happened under my watch as the minister of finance and prime minister. For that, I would like to apologise unreservedly to the Malaysian people,” Nizar read.
Earlier, Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered the former prime minister to enter his defence on four counts of power abuse and 21 counts of money laundering charges linked to the RM2.28bil said to be misappropriated from 1MDB.
Najib has chosen to give his evidence under oath from the witness stand.
According to the amended charges, the former Pekan MP is facing four counts of using his position to obtain RM2.28bil from 1MDB's funds and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same amount.
