KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — The prosecution today rested its case after calling 16 witnesses to testify in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s trial over the removal of key information from the auditor-general’s 2016 audit report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Today, lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram informed the High Court that the prosecution had concluded its case, and then proceeded to offer a list of 18 individuals as witnesses that Najib’s lawyers could choose to call if he has to enter his defence in this trial.

"Eighteen of them, these are the witnesses we offer, and we close our case,” he said.

The list of 18 witnesses included former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairmen Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed and Tan Sri Hasan Arifin, and former Dewan Rakyat secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah.

Also listed were Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad who is a former director of the National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team (NRRET) and also a former chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), former 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and The Edge Media Group chairman Datuk Tong Kooi Ong.

The others on the list of 18 are MACC officers, civil servants, and auditors including one from the firm Deloitte.

This trial had started on November 18, 2019, and had so far taken place over 43 days where 16 prosecution witnesses were called and had testified.

High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan has scheduled October 28 for both the prosecution and the defence to present their oral submissions or to present their arguments verbally on the case.

Both the prosecution and the defence will have to file their written submissions by October 7 and to file their replies to written submissions by October 14.

In this trial, 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 PAC — before it was finally presented to the PAC.

Najib is accused of having done so to protect himself from civil or criminal action over his role in the handling of 1MDB operations.

While Arul Kanda Kandasamy was charged with abetting Najib in committing the offence, he had also testified as the 15th prosecution witness in this trial.

Arul Kanda now remains an accused person until the end of the prosecution case, which is when the High Court will decide whether he had been truthful — which would then determine if he will be acquitted or if he would merely be removed as an accused person from this trial and with the prospects of possibly being put on trial before another judge.

Today, Arul Kanda’s lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan checked with the High Court on his client’s status. The former 1MDB CEO is still an accused person in this case for now.

Judge Zaini said it would be better for him to only decide on Arul Kanda’s status when both the prosecution and the defence have presented their submissions or arguments at the end of the prosecution’s case, as he will have to weigh Arul Kanda’s testimony against all other evidence by the prosecution.

Zaini confirmed to Sivananthan that he would decide on Arul Kanda’s status when he makes a ruling on whether the prosecution has proved a prima facie case and whether Najib would need to enter defence.

Sivananthan also told the High Court that he would only be presenting submissions on whether a certificate of indemnity should be issued for Arul Kanda following his testimony as a prosecution witness. A certificate of indemnity would result in Arul Kanda’s acquittal, while a failure to obtain such a certificate will also result in him ceasing to be an accused person in this trial and with the prosecution able to charge him again and to have a different judge hear his trial.

The last two prosecution witnesses to testify in the trial today were Najib’s former principal private secretary Tan Sri Shukry Salleh who was the 11th prosecution witness, and Arul Kanda who was briefly recalled as the 15th prosecution witness to identify signatures on three documents that had not been available previously when he was testifying in court.