KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today finally started his defence in his trial over 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) RM2 billion funds, and began reading his 525-page witness statement that was prepared while he was in prison.

Today is Najib’s first day testifying as his own defence witness in his 1MDB trial, six years after he was charged with power abuse and money laundering over RM2 billion of 1MDB funds.

Wearing his usual suit and a tie, the 71-year-old Najib walked to the witness stand using a walking aid and took his oath to tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” at 10.13am.

Earlier this morning, the prosecution’s deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar informed the High Court that they had received Najib’s witness statement last Friday at about 5.48pm.

Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah then told the High Court that the defence lawyers had been working under pressure to prepare the witness statement within a months’ time, and said they had to do so under "trying conditions” with time constraints as Najib is currently in prison.

"When we are about to achieve something, it’s time to go back and we can’t get appointments as we like, because of the conditions of the prison. The lawyers themselves are under pressure, then we have to spend our time in prison in the conditions imposed, it’s added pressure as such.

"But I must say the prison has been very kind under the circumstances, so we appreciate that. But nevertheless it was a pressure cooker, so my client has been very busy giving instructions to us. We put documents for him to comment, read, and so on, sometimes we have to leave it overnight with him.

"As such, we got as best as we can, this 525 pages of statement,” Shafee said.

Shafee said the defence team has yet to finalise the number of defence witnesses to be called to testify in Najib’s favour, but said tentatively there would be about 20 defence witnesses including possibly some expert witnesses.

Dual role as PM and finance minister since Tunku Abdul Rahman’s time

In September 2018, Najib, then aged 65, was charged with abusing his power in three roles — as prime minister, finance minister, and 1MDB’s board of advisers’ chairman — over 1MDB matters for his own financial benefit amounting to RM2.27 billion, as well as money laundering over RM2 billion of money belonging to 1MDB.

Today, Najib said he had on April 3, 2009 became the sixth prime minister of Malaysia and had also the same year became Umno president. Najib was prime minister until May 2018.

He said he had been finance minister from 2008 until May 2018.

But Najib said he was not the only person in Malaysia to have held both positions at the same time.

"No, I am neither the only nor the first prime minister of Malaysia to simultaneously hold the position of minister of finance,” he said when reading out his witness statement in a strong and clear voice.

Najib said this practice has a long history in Malaysia, starting with the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman who held both roles during two periods of his leadership (from 1957 to 1959 and from 1960 to 1962).

Najib said his late father Tun Abdul Razak had also held both positions simultaneously during his tenure from 1970 to 1976: "albeit for a short stint, I don’t think it was the full 1970 to 1976, it was for a brief period.”

"This was later continued by other leaders, including Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who briefly assumed the finance portfolio in the 1990s, if I’m not mistaken it was during the Asian Financial Crisis, and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,” he said, referring to his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad.

"By the way, the practice continues until today, the current prime minister also holds the position of prime minister and minister of finance,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes this afternoon.