KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak was given a short break from his 1Malaysia Development Bhd trial today to attend a meeting on the issue of the appointment of the new Prime Minister.
At the outset of the former prime minister’s trial over the misappropriation of RM2.28 billion from 1MDB, lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client who is Barisan Nasional (BN) adviser, needed to attend the important meeting which is scheduled at 11am today.
“There is a critical meeting between all the component parties of BN, Bersatu and a few other political parties we cannot name now due to the confidentiality on who would lead the government.
“My client as the BN adviser, his attendance together with Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan is compulsory with the rest of the party leaders to make a decision on certain names to be submitted for purposes of selection,” Shafee said.
He asked for the trial to be stopped at 10.45am so that his client could make it to the meeting which is held at the World Trade Centre, here, by 11am.
High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah allowed the request for adjournment.
Sequerah said he only allowed the request due to the peculiar circumstance on the country’s current issue at this point of time.
“I suppose the importance of this meeting is achieving a resolution. So it is only because of that.
“I don’t want to give the impression that other applications (for adjournment ) for meetings or events would be allowed. It is just this application,” the judge said.
Sequerah said he could accommodate the meeting but the trial needs to continue in the afternoon.
He then adjourned the trial to 2.30pm.
When the trial resumes, Shafee will continue with cross-examination of 10th prosecution witness former 1MDB chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman.
Najib, 68, is charged with 25 counts of abuse of power and money laundering involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds which were deposited into his accounts between 2011 and 2014.
He faces 20 years’ jail and fine, if convicted.
On Aug 16, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as the Prime Minister and was apoointed caretaker prime minister until his successor is appointed.
Source: New Straits Times
