THE Court of Appeal today dismissed an application by Najib Razak to put on hold his 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial pending his appeal to recuse presiding judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

The three-person appellate bench, chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail with judges Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and S.M. Komathy Suppiah, unanimously ruled that there are no special circumstances that justify a stay on the 1MDB trial.

“We do not agree that the appeal (to recuse Sequerah) would be rendered nugatory (pointless) if the trial is to proceed.

“Public interest is required for the trial to proceed. The trial of this case is at an advanced stage,” Hadhariah said.

The judges also said the 1MDB trial has already notched more than 176 days since the trial first began in 2019.

Najib is currently facing trial for misappropriating RM2.28 billion belonging to 1MDB.

The trial will now continue before the High Court from Monday to Wednesday next week.

Last week, Sequerah dismissed Najib’s application to recuse himself over his relationship with former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan.

Sequerah, in his ruling, said there had been no communication between them since Loo left the firm 15 years ago.

Najib, 70, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.28 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money-laundering involving the same amount.

Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar prosecuted while Muhammad Shafee Abdullah led Najib’s defence team. – August 25, 2023.