A REQUEST by government prosecutors to hold Najib Razak’s trials at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya has been rejected.

Chief Judge of Malaya Zaharah Ibrahim, rejecting the application, said the Palace of Justice is not a suitable venue to hear Najib’s three cases, in which the former prime minister faces 38 criminal charges.

“The courtrooms at the Palace of Justice are not designed to hold trials,” she told reporters after the elevation ceremony of nine judges to the Federal Court and Court of Appeal yesterday.

She said she has informed Attorney-General Tommy Thomas about the decision.

Najib’s trials will be heard at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex, which houses the sessions, magistrates’ and high courts.

Special prosecutor Sulaiman Abdullah last month applied for the transfer before high court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, and said a written application would be submitted to Zaharah.

He said the request was to ensure smooth court proceedings.

“At the Palace of Justice, there is strict monitoring and access is limited, hence, we can avoid congestion in the court area. Besides, many prosecution witnesses are from the Putrajaya area.”

Najib’s lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, had objected to the request.

“They wrote a letter requesting (a change in venue). It was very long. We replied with a longer letter, saying we shouldn’t. We should have it here (Kuala Lumpur Court Complex),” he told reporters during Najib’s case management on October 31.

“This is a bigger court that the one in Putrajaya. You can put three Putrajaya (courts) inside. So, why do you want to transfer? Putrajaya has only eight courts. We’ve got 38 here.”

Najib is facing money laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust charges. His case concerning SRC International Sdn Bhd, in which he faces seven counts of criminal wrongdoing, has been fixed for Thursday.

SRC International is a former subsidiary of the scandal-hit 1Malaysia Development Bhd. – November 27, 2018.