THE Kuala Lumpur High Court will deliver its decision on August 7 on former prime minister Najib Razak’s application to strike out his abuse of power charge in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) audit report tampering case.

Presiding judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan today heard submissions from Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah that an amendment by prosecutors last month had rendered the charge defective and the case “groundless”.  

On June 24, Najib again claimed trial to a single amended charge of using his position to remove parts of the final 1MDB audit report between February 22 and 26, 2016, at the Prime Minister’s Department to protect himself from criminal action.

He was charged, in his capacity as prime minister and a public officer, with using the position to obtain gratification for himself, which was to evade disciplinary, civil or criminal action against him in connection with 1MDB by ordering alterations to the final audit report after it was finalised by the National Audit Department, and before it was finalised again and tabled to the Public Accounts Committee.

Najib was first charged on December 12, 2018 along with former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy, who was charged with abetting Najib.

Najib’s charge is an offence under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, whereby an officer of a public body used his position for any gratification.

Prosecutors last month amended several words in the charge, written in Malay, including the words “finalised” and “finalise again”.

Najib’s legal team submitted that the amended charge should be quashed and struck off as it does not disclose any offence known to law and that he should be acquitted and discharged as a result.

Shafee, in his submission, said the amended charge has failed to state the facts constituting the offensive act emanating from the purported misuse of Najib’s former positions as prime minister and finance minister.

He added that the use of the words “muktamad” (finalised) were misleading and confusing to the defence as the Malay word has no strict equivalent in English.

Lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram argued that the application was made in bad faith and an abuse of court process.

He submitted that the charge complies with the requirements of Sections 152, 153 and 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

He said whether the charge, as it stands, is good in law or otherwise, cannot be determined at the current stage.

It was submitted that the evidence to prove the charge is only partially complete, and that the prosecution should be given the opportunity to prove its case with any decision on the merits of the case to be made at the end of the prosecution stage, where some 20 witnesses are slated to testify.

At present, seven witnesses have taken to the stand in the trial’s 10 days of proceedings.

The defence has not completed cross-examining four crucial witnesses – former chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa, National Audit Department (NAD) director Nor Salwani Muhammad, former auditor-general Ambrin Buang and former NAD audit director Saadatul Nafisah Bashir Ahmad.

If convicted, Najib faces a maximum prison term of up to 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000 upon conviction. – July 23, 2020.