Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib Razak will testify in his defence after judge rules first 1MDB trial will proceed
- Najib told the court he plans to be called to the witness stand, enabling prosecutors to cross-examine him for the first time
- The case relates to losses of 42 million ringgit (US$10.2 million) at SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB
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.
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.