Najib’s lawyer Shafee still refuses to talk to media, claims his words being manipulated

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah today continued to refuse to answer questions from reporters, claiming that the media were allegedly manipulating what he had said.

Shafee and his law firm represents former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in multiple criminal trials, including the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial where Najib is facing 25 charges over the misappropriation of RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds.

Shafee had also been Najib’s lead defence lawyer for a large part of the SRC International Sdn Bhd case where RM42 million of the company’s funds were misappropriated. But Najib had on July 25 discharged Shafee and his law firm from the SRC case.

Today, when asked if Najib had rehired him for the SRC case, Shafee flatly refused to comment.

“See, until you promise me what I said, you print, I will not speak, because it’s all being manipulated.

“It’s all being manipulated, it’s terrible.

“Unless and until you are going to be full of integrity as a reporter and really become the fourth estate, as check and balances, I will not speak to you, because you are not doing your job,” he told reporters here before leaving the fifth floor of the court complex.

Shafee was asked this question by a group of reporters at the court complex here, after he had performed his duty as lead defence lawyer for Najib in yet another criminal trial. In this trial, Najib was accused of having abused his powers by allegedly instructing for changes to the auditor-general’s 2016 audit report on 1MDB.

Shafee did not specify any news reports that had allegedly manipulated what he said.

Yesterday afternoon when met by reporters at the Kuala Lumpur court complex, Shafee also refused to provide an answer on how Najib was doing after having spent two nights in prison.

“I can’t say anything, I’m not going to say anything because you twist and turn our words, even in the court,” Shafee had said. “Go and find out yourselves.”

Later in the afternoon yesterday, when Shafee was met while leaving the court complex, he had also refused to answer questions from reporters, saying “I’m not answering anything” and also indicating that he would not entertain questions on that day.

Shafee was at that time 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. Shafee was also being asked if Najib intends to pay the RM210 million fine in the SRC case.