Najib 1MDB case: Defence closes case
PUTRAJAYA: The defence in former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's case involving the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion belonging to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) closed its case today after calling 26 witnesses.
Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, representing the former premier, informed the court after calling the defence's final witness, a forensic document examiner from PHA Handwriting Analysis Sdn Bhd, Tay Eue Kam, to testify.
'Yang Arif, we officially closed the case after our 26th witness today. Just for Yang Arif's information, the trial of this case began on Aug 28, 2019, while the final day of the prosecution's case was May 30, 2024. The trial lasted 233 days and involved 50 witnesses.
'On Oct 30, 2024, the court ordered Datuk Seri Najib to enter his defence, with the first day of the defence proceedings on Dec 2, 2024 and the last on May 6, 2025, taking a total of 58 days with 26 witnesses,' Muhammad Shafee informed the presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Justice Sequerah then set Sept 30 for both parties to submit their written submissions and nine days, beginning Oct 21, for oral submissions.
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Focus Malaysia
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Malaysiakini
5 days ago
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How many in the Parliament are progressive and anxious to get a leader? Nice. In 2016, KJ was embroiled in a controversy surrounding a RM100 million scandal involving the Youth and Sports Ministry, where he was its minister. If the ministerial post was a certainty, would KJ make this bizarre statement that he is busy? Do you know anyone for the past 67 years who was too busy to accept a minister position? As for his remarkable qualities, they seem very common and routine for anyone working in the corporate world. Interesting? No. Milshah: Something appears to be not right. Umno should be a party where there is a good pool of educated and capable young leaders. What happened to all the educated and capable Umno leaders? I refer to another article related to the retirement age for politicians, where the young ones were supportive, but the old guard were against the idea. They (politicians) do not know when to quit and let the younger generation take over. They 'cantas' (get rid of, as in trimming a branch on a tree) potential leaders, or they do not give them opportunities to lead, as they see these young leaders as threats. I'm not talking about party central committees but division leaders as well. They want the position for life and will 'cantas' any young leaders who could take over from them. Then, when the party asks: Where are the young educated capable leaders? There is no one, comes the answer. Why? Because all of them have been 'cantas' already. FairPlay: What's so great about KJ? He is also an old wine in a new bottle, as the saying goes. He may not be as old as the others, but soon, he will fall into the group known as 'recycle'. There is no future (whatsoever) if the politics in the country keep rebranding old and recycled wine as new wine. We have 68 years of journey as a sovereign nation. Where is the nation today when compared with the tiny red dot south of the border? Headhunter: We thought he had crossed the Rubicon (point of no return) and had moved on. He is better off if he joins the likes of outgoing Economy Minister and ex-PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who recently resigned from his minister post. They can move to or form a new party. Umno is fundamentally rotten to the core, and nothing much can be done to revive it. The entrenched old dogs will not easily or willingly give up their lucrative positions and will not give him a free rein to 'kill their golden goose'. He will be seen as a threat, as history has shown. Furthermore, his past grassroots supporters have moved on to find new pastures. Coward: KJ is already in Umno. In fact, despite his sacking from Umno in January 2023, he has remained in the party. He has his flaws, but overall, he is one of the more capable and less tainted leaders in Umno. As such, his return to the government is probably good news instead of bad. KJ is definitely one, if not the only, candidate who will be chosen by an Umno leader who has the party's future. However, other undeserving and definitely way worse candidates will likely edge him out because they have the ears of Umno leaders. Umno leaders are also those who are known to prioritise themselves over the party. Winning Scarecrow: Khairy must enhance his Islamic credentials before making a comeback. Anwar needs leaders who can help him accomplish his goal of making Malaysia a great Islamic state. Young Malaysians have indicated in surveys that they prefer to have leaders with a strong Islamic background like Anwar, newly minted PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and other leaders from PAS. We cannot find such leaders in Umno so far, so Khairy needs to prove that he is more Islamic than PAS leaders before being accepted again by Malaysians as their leader. The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now. These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.
