PUTRAJAYA, Aug 25 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today failed again to stay or temporarily pause his trial over the misappropriation of RM2.28 billion of 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) funds, as the Court of Appeal rejected his application for stay.
The Court of Appeal dismissed Najib’s application to pause the trial, with Justice Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail saying that public interest requires the 1MDB trial to proceed.
“This is our unanimous decision. We agree with the learned public prosecutor that there are no special circumstances shown for us to grant stay of proceedings.
“We are not able to agree with the applicant’s submission that the appeal will be rendered nugatory if stay is refused. In our view, the public interest demands the case proceed,” the judge said.
The appeal here refers to Najib's bid to remove the 1MDB trial judge, with the judge disagreeing that it would become nugatory or futile or invalid if the 1MDB trial is not paused.
“The trial of this case is at an advanced stage as 46 witnesses have given evidence and 173 days of trial, and in such circumstances, there is no compelling reason to grant stay. For the aforesaid reasons, we find no merit in the application. The application is therefore dismissed,” the judge added.
Court of Appeal judges Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk S.M. Komathy Suppiah also sat on the panel today.
Najib, who was wearing a light grey suit with a pink tie and grey socks, sat in the public gallery amid tight security by prison guards.
Last Friday, Najib had already failed at the High Court to pause his 1MDB trial. This is the second time he has failed to stay the case.
Following the Court of Appeal’s decision today, Najib’s 1MDB trial at the High Court which is scheduled for next Monday is expected to go on. Former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz is expected to continue testifying as the 46th prosecution witness.
Najib’s 1MDB trial is scheduled to go on from next Monday to next Wednesday (August 28 to August 30), September 18 to 21, October 9 to October 12, October 17 to 19, October 24 to 26, November 6 to 9, and November 14 to 15.
On August 23, Najib had filed this application at the Court of Appeal to ask for the 1MDB trial to be paused.
Najib wanted his 1MDB trial stayed until the Court of Appeal decides on his appeal against his failed bid last Friday to remove the 1MDB trial judge.
Earlier during the hearing of the stay application at the Court of Appeal, Najib's lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah argued that there is "special circumstances" to pause the 1MDB trial as it would become null and void if the Court of Appeal were to later decide that the 1MDB trial judge should be removed.
Shafee also argued that Najib was not trying to delay the 1MDB trial as "hardly any days were wasted unless it is absolutely necessary" for the trial which has been going on for 173 days, and argued that there would also not be a delay if the trial is paused for three days next week.
Shafee had suggested to the Court of Appeal that work could be done to enable the appeal --- to remove the 1MDB trial judge --- to be heard within the next two weeks, and that would then mean that only the three trial dates next week would be affected as the trial would next resume on September 18.
Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar argued that the Court of Appeal should reject Najib's application to stay the 1MDB trial as there are no "special circumstances" which would require the pausing of the trial.
Citing a Federal Court judgment in 2019 in another case involving Najib's trial involving RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd's funds, Kamal Baharin also argued that public interest should be the overriding factor in proceedings involving applications such as Najib's bid to remove the 1MDB trial judge, and that the case should proceed without delay as public interest would not be served by allowing a request for delay.
Later when met outside the courtroom, Shafee told reporters that Najib has given the instructions to file an application at the Federal Court for a stay of the 1MDB trial, and said the stay application would likely be filed next Monday.
On August 14, Najib applied at the High Court to remove Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah from hearing the 1MDB trial, with the ultimate aim of getting acquitted of all the 25 charges in the 1MDB trial, or alternatively have the trial be heard afresh from the start or be continued before a different High Court judge.
On August 18, Najib failed at the High Court to recuse and remove Sequerah from continuing to hear his 1MDB trial and failed in his ultimate goal of being acquitted. On that same day, Najib filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal against that decision.
Sequerah had rejected Najib’s application to remove him from the 1MDB trial, saying that the application was solely based on the fact that he was working in the same medium-to-big-sized law firm Zain & Co at the same time as 1MDB’s former in-house lawyer Jasmine Loo up until 2008. 1MDB only came into existence in September 2009.Among other things, Sequerah said he had not communicated or met with Loo since her 2008 resignation from the law firm, which was 15 years ago, and also said there is no proof of any personal or professional relationship between him and Loo.Sequerah ruled that Najib had failed to prove that there is a real danger of bias if he were to continue hearing the 1MDB trial, and said there would be no conflict of interest for him to remain as trial judge.
After dismissing Najib’s bid to remove him, Sequerah had on August 18 also rejected Najib’s application to stay or pause the 1MDB trial in the High Court by ruling that there were no “special circumstances” to justify a stay.
MORE TO COME
