Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak on Monday said he would take the stand to defend himself after a court ruled he had a case to answer in the first of his multiple criminal trials linked to the 1MDB financial scandal . Najib will be called to the witness stand on December 3, enabling prosecutors to cross-examine him for the first time, after High Court judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali decided he had to enter his defence for all seven charges linked to the loss of 42 million ringgit (US$10.2 million) from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB – the sovereign wealth fund Najib founded in 2009, from which US$4.5 billion was plundered during his 2009-18 tenure as prime minister, according to prosecutors. Explained: Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal The 66-year-old, who was ousted from power in shock election results last year, was described as being “shocked” that the judge ordered him to enter a defence on every charge, according to his lawyer, Shafee Abdullah. “Frankly we were expecting an acquittal at this stage,” Shafee told reporters, saying the defence’s submissions had been “overwhelming, both factually and legally speaking”. Shafee said that although Najib was “sad” about the judge’s order, he was happy that now “you can hear the real story from the accused”. In a statement on his personal Facebook page, the former prime minister said that now witnesses for the defence would be given an opportunity to paint the “true picture” and prove his innocence. “This is an opportunity to clear my name soon in court,” he said. During the hearing, the judge told the court Najib had “enormous and overarching influence [over the 1MDB unit, SRC International],” adding the prosecution had established Najib had a case to answer for the four charges of corruption and three charges of money laundering he faces in this particular trial. “It was under the control of the accused from day one. The accused wielded considerable power,” the judge said. In their closing submissions last month, prosecutors argued Najib acted like an “emperor” in overseeing massive corruption at the former 1MDB unit. His defence team, however, said the bulk of evidence did not indicate “any finding of culpability” on Najib’s part. Malaysian authorities claim US$65 million followed ‘clear trajectory’ from Najib’s account In total, Najib faces 42 criminal charges for his involvement in the financial scandal, and the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted. Monday’s ruling was regarded as a key test for the legal system and the credibility of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government, which won a historic victory in the May 2018 election on an anti-corruption platform. The polls led to Malaysia’s first change of government since independence from Britain in 1957. Mahathir, 94, was prime minister for 22 years until his retirement in 2003 but made a political comeback amid anger over the 1MDB scandal. His government soon reopened 1MDB investigations that had been quashed under Najib. In an immediate reaction, Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman tweeted: “Praise God. May justice be on the side of the people.” US investigators say Najib’s associates stole more than US$4.5 billion from 1MDB and laundered the money through layers of bank accounts in the US and other countries to finance Hollywood films and buy hotels, a luxury yacht , art works, jewellery and other extravagances. More than US$700 million from the fund allegedly landed in Najib’s bank account. Truckloads of luggage stashed with cash, jewellery and hundreds of expensive designer bags worth US$265 million dollars were seized from Najib’s and his wife’s home and other properties. Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse, Associated Press