NAJIB Razak’s lawyers will not be calling Australian handwriting expert Steven Strach to testify at the SRC International trial, the high court was told today.

“An impasse has arisen relating to the terms of Dr Steven’s appointment and as a result, we are unable to proceed further with his appointment,” said lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah in a letter to the high court, made available to the press.

Shafee informed the court of the defence’s decision today, after this morning’s hearing. He made no verbal mention on the reasons why Strach was no longer needed.

Strach conducted examination of over a dozen documents on February 11 and 12 but has yet to produce a report beyond a preliminary one, Shafee said in the letter that was hand delivered to the high court’s deputy registrar Mahyudin Mohmad Som this morning.

Shafee also informed the court that the defence would be calling former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad and Najib’s former private secretary Shukry Mohd Salleh to testify as defence witnesses.

Current MACC chief Latheefa Koya may also be called to testify on two audio recordings of phone conversations involving Najib she released in January.

Meanwhile, ad hoc deputy public prosecutor V. Sithambaram told the court of several witnesses the prosecution could not trace or are unavailable, to be provided to the defence.

They are former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, Low Taek Jho, Izzad Izzairi Fikri Rosman, Noriyah Ahmad, Zainal Abidin Osman and Jerome Lee Tak Loong.

Ahmad Norhisham Hassan and Najib’s former principal private secretary Azlin Alias have passed away.

Former attorney-general Apandi Ali was in the witness room today but was not called to testify. Shafee informed the court that Apandi’s mother was critically ill and had to be attended to.

The final defence witness is expected to be Rosman Abdullah, group managing director of construction firm Putrajaya Perdana Bhd.

Najib and his alleged enablers are accused of funnelling hundreds of millions of ringgit from SRC International through subsidiaries owned by the company.

The 66-year-old faces seven criminal charges of having received RM42 million from SRC International between December 2014 and February 2015.

The trial resumes tomorrow. – February 24, 2020.