THE Kuala Lumpur High Court has postponed by a week the hearing dates for oral submissions for the SRC International case due to the current movement control order (MCO).

Presiding judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali today allowed the defence’s application to push back the oral submissions dates, setting May 18 onwards, according to one of former prime minister Najib Razak’s lawyers.

The initial date was May 12.

Lawyers from both sides will have three days to wrap up their arguments before the trial comes to a close.

The court will then set a date for a verdict on whether Najib will be acquitted or convicted of the seven criminal charges he is facing for allegedly receiving RM42 million in funds from government-linked entity SRC International Sdn Bhd in 2014 and 2015.

The 66-year-old accused faces up to 20 years’ jail, if convicted.

Written submissions are to be filed prior by April 28, with reply submissions to be tendered by May 12. The original deadlines were April 21 and May 5.

In an April 1 letter sighted by The Malaysian Insight, Najib’s lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had appealed to the high court via deputy registrar Mahyudin Mohd Som for extensions on deadlines and hearing dates, saying the MCO had disrupted the work of defence lawyers.

“Seeing that all parties must obey the MCO, all firms and our offices are closed and their operations have ceased until April 14. Our situation has become quite serious and the MCO has made any movement impossible.”

Najib’s lawyers rested their case on March 11. The trial, which began on April 3, last year, saw 76 witnesses testify, including 57 prosecution witnesses. It has been held on 91 hearing dates.

The defence had called 19 witnesses, including former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Dzulkifli Ahmad and former foreign minister Anifah Aman.

Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas had led the prosecution team before resigning on February 29 following the change of government. – April 10, 2020.