THE opening of the trial of Najib Razak was a first for Malaysians, who have never seen a prime minister, former or incumbent, hauled to court to answer criminal charges. But that proved to be just the start of a week of brow-raising revelations, among the most fascinating of which being the accused’s alleged spending habits, as seen through the large cheques that were issued from his bank account to everyone, from the plumber to his political supporters.

It was revealed that RM156,500 in cheques were issued from his AmBank account to pay for renovations at his private residence in Kuala Lumpur.

Prosecutors called in the two payees – a  kitchen cabinet designer and a plumbing specialist – who testified that they were paid in early 2015 to carry out renovation works and construct, among others, a cabinet, a space for clothes and a large water tank to resolve the water supply troubles affecting Najib’s home on the hilly terrain of Langgak Duta.

The two men were asked by defence lawyers to describe the compound, which they said was large and which occasionally hosted events. They said a residence manager by the name of Amirul was among their handlers.

An AmBank cheque processing officer also testified that 15 cheques amounting to RM10.77 million were issued from two of Najib’s bank accounts to lawyers, supporters and political operatives.

This included a RM3.5 million cheque made out to a law firm owned by Umno counsel Mohd Hafarizam Harun, who was charged in February with laundering RM15 million.

Other cheques for RM2.5 million went to law firm Zulqarnain and Co, RM1 million to the Penang Umno liaison committee, RM1 million to Sabah Barisan Nasional component Upko, and RM300,000 to the Johor Baru Umno division.

Also admitted as evidence was a RM20 million cheque issued by SRC International to its corporate responsibility arm Ihsan Perdana on December 12, 2014.  

SRC was established as a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) in 2011 to explore international strategic investments in the energy field.

It was later placed under the purview of the Finance Ministry led at the time by Najib, who was finance minister.

Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told reporters on Monday that Najib could not possibly have known whether the money credited into his accounts came from illegal sources, and that the former finance minister “might not have had the full picture” of his bank account transactions.

Shafee said it is for the prosecution to prove that Najib was complicit in any wrongdoing – a point the Attorney-General Tommy Thomas conceded. Thomas said the “burden of proof” indeed lies with the prosecution, whose case was being “stymied” by a preliminary objection from the defence seeking to prevent the kitchen cabinet contractor maker from testifying.

Innocent until proven guilty

The presumption of innocence is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial in Malaysia, as well as a human right under the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“It is not for the defence to prove innocence,” said Rajsurian Pillai, a criminal lawyer.

“Najib and his legal team can remain shut (to questioning) throughout the whole (hearing of the) case and still come out innocent as all the defence has to do is to raise reasonable doubt in what the prosecution is trying to prove.”

A mere denial of knowledge that crime had been committed, however, is typically not enough to escape conviction, said Rajsurian.

In the weeks to come, the prosecution will call to the stand a reported 50 people to build its case.

The witnesses will be examined by the prosecutor and then cross-examined by the defence. The prosecutor will then re-examine what has been crossed.

Finally, after the prosecution has finished presenting its case,  the judge will decide whether there is a prima facie case against Najib. If that is established, Najib will be asked to enter his defence.

“The defence will then call its witnesses, who will be cross-examined by the prosecution and then re-examined by the defence,” said Rajsurian.

“At the end of the defence case, both parties will submit to court whether Najib is proven guilty of a crime beyond reasonable doubt.

“If it is proven, Najib will be found guilty. And if it is not proven, Najib will be acquitted,” he said.

Appeals can still be made after the court decision and, if there is a conviction, the judge can stay the execution until the appeal is heard by a higher court.

Najib’s trial resumes tomorrow. – April 21, 2019.