THE prosecution’s ninth witness, former 1Malaysia Development Berhad CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, returns to the stand as former prime minister Najib Razak’s trial enters its 25th day today.

Shahrol will be cross-examined by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah for the eighth consecutive day of the 1MDB trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Last Thursday, Shahrol testified that Najib was the “emperor” of 1MDB, as the latter was the ultimate decision-maker in the state investor.

He referred to Article 117 of 1MDB’s memorandum and articles of association, which gave a sitting prime minister “kuasa mutlak” (absolute power) over the entity.

Najib had the power over board appointments, to dissolve the board, hire or fire senior management as well as implementing direct policies and investments in line with national interests.

The 66-year-old accused, is on trial for four counts of power abuse to enrich himself with RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 counts of laundering the same amount.

Prosecutors have accused Najib of conspiring with the fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low, to defraud the state investor.

Shahrol also testified that Low was the one who proposed for Article 117 to be inserted into the sovereign wealth fund’s memorandum and articles of association.

The amendment overrode Article 9(a) which originally granted power to the federal government. Shahrol added that Wong & Partners was consulted for the amendment, with one Brian Chia acting as lead lawyer.

Najib is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Shafee.

Former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram is leading the prosecution before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

The Malaysian Insight brings you today’s proceedings live:

11.41am: Court adjourned until tomorrow.

11.39am: Court is adjourned for now. Tomorrow lawyers will be at judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali’s court to enter their submissions for the SRC International case.

11.35am: Shafee explains that he has a medical certificate, seeking adjournment today to check his eye.

Sequerah asks Shafee whether they would be able to continue tomorrow morning, pending on whether the SRC International’s submissions finish on time.

11.34am: Shafee stops cross-examination to address Sequerah.

11.16am: Shafee makes an observation that at every board of directors meeting, there’s always full quorum.

Shahrol agrees.

10.58am: Shahrol says he’s discouraged from enquiring on other issues beyond what was given to him in talking points by Low.

Shafee: Apart from that one time asking Najib, you never asked anyone else? 

Shahrol: No.

10.55am: Shahrol says on one occasion at a CSR event, he asked Najib if he could talk to the PSU guys to bring their money back, Najib told him to talk to Low.

Shahrol says he was discouraged to find out beyond his silo.

10.52am: Shahrol says Low told him that there were additional Haj quotas for Malaysians because of this joint venture

Shafee: Have you ever asked Low for the full picture?

Shahrol: No.

Shafee: Did Najib tell you?

Shahrol: No.

10.48am: Shahrol: When Low told me that this must be done by a certain date, I took it on good faith that this was the role that myself and 1MDB were to play.

10.45am: Shahrol admits that he should’ve obtained a copy of the loan agreement and brought it up to the board of 1MDB.

Shafee: Don’t you think it would’ve been prudent to check it with your lawyers?

Shahrol: It would have but we had time pressure put on us. I really believed that this was of personal importance to Najib. We didn’t want to delay the transaction.

Shahrol says working in Team Najib involved working in silos and you would not have visibility of the other silos.

10.43am: Shafee asks who would micromanage the joint venture.

Shahrol says it fell on Low.

He says the inherent message by Najib and Low was this was to get done.

Shahrol says he had never asked Najib about the US$700 million debt.

10.40am: Shahrol says the debt was there because assets were pumped in, in readiness for the joint venture.

He says the board was unaware of this and had they been aware, they would’ve asked.

He says they had bulldozed the joint venture through based on representations from Low.

10.37am: As soon as the joint venture was signed, there was US$700 million debt. PetroSaudi had asked for the money from 1MDB a day after the joint venture was signed.

Shahrol says PetroSaudi had sent 1MDB a letter of demand for the debt.

10.29am: Shafee is refering to a letter from PetroSaudi Ltd to 1MDB-PetroSaudi Ltd, a day after the joint venture was finalised.

9.58am: Shafee tells Shahrol that they’re now going to pinpoint the exact date when TIA (Terengganu Investment Authority) became 1MDB.

9.57am: Court is in session. – October 21, 2019.