NAJIB Razak has denied using his mobile phone to take a selfie during the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning.

The former prime minister stood up from the dock and addressed judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

“Yang Arif, I used it (the phone) as a mirror to check my (face). That’s all.”

This comes after The Edge said Najib took a selfie “with a sad expression” and later stood up to take another picture of the courtroom.

The report was later amended to say he sat up as he took a photo of the courtroom.

Before proceedings continued in the afternoon, ad hoc prosecutor V. Sithambaram told the court that he received WhatsApp messages pointing to reports of Najib taking a selfie, which is a violation of court rules.

“It’s not good for the integrity of the proceedings,” he said, asking Nazlan to address the matter of using mobile phones to take pictures in court.

Najib’s lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said a reporter from The Edge sat behind the former prime minister.

“He seems to be able to sit behind Najib and see him (Najib) take a picture of himself from there. And from behind, he is able to say how Najib looks like. He seem to have superhuman powers.”

Shafee added that he questioned Najib about the matter, and the latter denied taking photos using his mobile phone.

“Perhaps the reporter was bored. This is the sort of reporting that is not welcome. This is not newsworthy. We kept quiet the first few times,” said the lawyer.

“He (Najib) was looking at himself because he felt something sharp on his eyebrow.

“That is the reason why I need to complain about such reporting. If they want to be treated as the fourth estate, they can’t behave like estate people.”

Sithambaram said the prosecution is only concerned if a photo had indeed been taken.

“(Photos) should not be taken. There are rules in court,” he said, to which Shafee replied that Najib has denied doing so.

“We have asked my client directly. It is a report… that is prejudiced against my client. Every now and then, he (is the subject) of such a report. It’s not newsworthy. It’s not news.”

Nazlan asked Najib to make his statement, after which the judge said, “I accept the explanation”.

“But as a general reminder, the court forbids any form of recording. This is actually known to most people,” he said, adding that anyone taking selfies in court will be held in contempt.

“If that ever happens, they would have to surrender their mobile devices to police. The integrity of court proceedings must be respected.”

Shafee: Yang Arif should also remind that as an open court, any report is to assist the openness of proceedings. Reports that have no truth or are not newsworthy have zero effect on that. Unless the reporter is willing to enter the witness box… I can ask whether this is true. My client is willing to enter the witness box.

Nazlan: I don’t think it was done with malice. I’m sure. Maybe, the way the phone was used as a mirror gave the impression that selfies were taken. I will leave it at that because the last thing I want is for things like this to distract the proceedings.

The court then called the 35th prosecution witness, Azlida Mazni Arshad, who is vice-president of Retirement Fund Inc’s (KWAP) Legal and Secretarial Department. – May 9, 2019.