THE highly anticipated trial of former prime minister Najib Razak should not be further delayed as it is a case of public interest and stolen public funds, said civil society groups and a prominent lawyer.

They said millions of ringgit have gone missing and Najib has to account for it.

The former prime minister is scheduled to stand trial on Tuesday for laundering RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

But Najib is seeking to stay the trial for seven corruption charges. He wants the Court of Appeal to hold off the trial until a decision is made on a peripheral objection raised by the defence team.  

Civil society groups said the trial should be expedited as Najib has enjoyed his freedom for a long time despite being slapped with 42 charges.

Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism executive director Cynthia Gabriel said although Najib has the right to the court process, he has been at liberty long enough considering the number of charges he is facing and the sum of money involved.

“For a former prime minister who was holding the highest public office and is facing over 40 charges of money laundering and abuse of power, he has enjoyed his freedom long enough,” Gabriel told The Malaysian Insight. 

On July 4 last year, Najib was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abusing his position in relation to SRC International. He was hit with three more charges of money laundering the following month. 

The total amount of money involved in the seven charges is RM42 million.

Gabriel said the trial is already delayed and that does not look good on the justice system.

Faridah Ariffin, of the G25 group of prominent former civil servants, said the case needs to be expedited as it has been many months since Najib was charged.

“This is a public interest case. Malaysians have been waiting eagerly for this trial to proceed since Najib was indicted in the middle of last year and they are getting very impatient.

“Any delay is of course a waste of taxpayers’ money. I hope the judge will deal very firmly with any frivolous applications to delay the trial,” she said.

Faridah said Najib is making a mockery of the judicial system with his appeal for a stay. 

From a legal perspective, however, Najib, like any accused person, has every right to file for a postponement, said lawyer Syahredzan Johan.  

“In the end, it is up to the court whether to grant it or not,” he said.

“Najib has said that they want the trial to be expedited. Now when the trial is about to start, they don’t want it to start.

 “People are going to ask why they (Najib’s team) want it postponed.  

“The courts have to take into account all considerations and come to a decision. I would personally like to see the trial start as soon as possible.  

“We don’t want to see a situation where the court sees that there is a need to stay the trial, but due to public pressure, it orders the trial to proceed.

“They have to be fair to the accused person, even if it is Najib.” – February 9, 2019.