NAJIB Razak’s lawyer has sought a short adjournment for him to advise his client on legal documents pertaining to the charges to be preferred against the former prime minister.

“I need to advise my client because these are not laymen documents, these are legal documents,” senior counsel Shafee Abdullah told the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur today.

He added that lawyers were usually given the charge sheets beforehand so “we can appreciate the charges”.

“If charges are to be read out now, the second he is in, we would not be able to advise our client,” he said.

Former judge Gopal Sri Ram, who is prosecuting, had no objections.

Najib faces at least 21 charges under the Anti-Money Laundering Act for offences linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.

He is also expected to face additional charges brought by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

The former prime minister was calm as he walked into the court complex today.

Dressed in a dark suit and a blue tie, he appeared unruffled despite having spent the night in lock-up at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.  

Seated behind Najib in the dock were seven police officers, several lawyers and two observers from the US embassy. – September 20, 2018.