KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak met his family for the first time in court today, following his imprisonment two days ago, his special officer Ahmad Lutfi Azhar confirmed today.
When met by reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex after the end of proceedings today for Najib’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial, Lutfi was asked if this was the first time Najib’s family had met him.
“In court lah,” he replied.
Lutfi confirmed that Najib would be sent back to Kajang Prison following his court appearance today for the 1MDB trial, and dispelled rumours that he would be transferred to Sungai Buloh Prison.
“Eh, no, for now, it is in Kajang,” he said.
Earlier today, Najib’s daughter Nooryana Najwa and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor were sighted making their way to the room where Najib was being held when the 1MDB trial adjourned for lunch.
Najib’s son Norashman was also sighted outside the same room before the 1MDB trial resumed in the afternoon, after which he was seen sitting in the public gallery.
Naijb is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence after the Federal Court on Tuesday upheld his conviction over the misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds.
He was sent to Kajang Prison on Tuesday itself and has spent two nights there so far.
Bypassing the usual main entrance on the ground floor of the court complex where photographers were waiting, Najib showed up in the courtroom at 10.40am without handcuffs.
He was wearing a dark blue suit and a red-and-blue striped tie. His facial expressions could not be read as he was wearing a white face mask.
This was his first public appearance since his imprisonment, and he sat in the accused’s dock after nodding at the public gallery. The trial then started at about 10.42am.
The 1MDB trial ended at 3.52pm today and is set to resume on September 5.
About two minutes after the end of today’s proceedings, around seven supporters and aides stepped forward to greet Najib while he was still seated in the accused’s dock.
Multiple police personnel and prison officers in uniform were seen in the courtroom during the trial, and there was tight security.
No groups of supporters gathered at the court complex earlier in the day, with media personnel instead gathered and waiting since before 7am for his appearance.
It was only at around 4pm that a small group of around 15 supporters led by Pertubuhan Jalinan Perpaduan Negara Malaysia president Syed Mohammad Imran Syed Abdul Aziz showed up at the court complex, and were easily outnumbered by the media personnel waiting.
At around 4.20pm, a convoy of cars including three black vehicles — including one black SUV carrying Najib — was seen leaving the court complex for Kajang Prison.
As he left, the car window on Najib’s side was wound down and he peered through the narrow opening to wave at a small group of around 15 supporters.
There was enough of a gap for Najib to stick his hand out of the window and gesticulate, with his face visible too.
The supporters were heard repeatedly shouting “Bossku” — Najib’s moniker which went viral a few years ago when he was no longer the prime minister — as the convoy made its way out of the court complex’s compound.
Tomorrow, Najib is scheduled to return to the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex for the hearing of yet another of his criminal trials.
The corruption trial that Najib will be attending tomorrow is for his alleged abuse of power by instructing for amendments to the auditor-general’s report on 1MDB before it could be given to the parliamentary watchdog Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in order to allegedly obtain protection from civil or criminal action over his role in the handling of 1MDB operations.
Besides these three cases, including the SRC one which has landed him in prison, Najib has two other trials which have yet to commence.
Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah did not answer reporters’ questions when leaving the court complex today.
He briefly remarked, “I’m not answering anything”, before maintaining his silence and merely smiling when questions were posed to him as he walked away from the building.
Shafee was asked if Najib had rehired him as his lawyer for SRC matters since his law firm had filed an appeal to the Federal Court to seek for UK lawyer Jonathan Laidlaw to be brought to Malaysia for SRC matters.
His reply of “not today” indicated once more that he would not be entertaining questions.
Shafee was also asked if Najib intends to pay the RM210 million fine in the SRC case, but similarly chose not to answer.
