KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has postponed the highly anticipated trial of Datuk Seri Najib Razak involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) to make way for the completion of his trial involving the misappropriation of RM42mil in SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah allowed the prosecution’s request to postpone the hearing to next Monday (Aug 26) after hearing submissions from both parties.
The 1MDB hearing was initially scheduled to start on Monday (Aug 19), and the defence team led by Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah did not object to the posponement.
He however said he was applying for the trial to begin on Sept 3.
Justice Sequerah said the trial would proceed next Monday but he would hear submissions
“We will try to impress you on why the trial should not start on Monday (Aug 26) and should start on Sept 3, ” he said here.
Justice Sequerah said the trial would proceed next Monday but would hear the status of the SRC International hearing on Thursday, which is expected to conclude on that day.
"I’m prepared to be reasonable but if you need time, I can stand down and adjourn it for a while or for half a day. The trial will proceed on Monday but I will hear you out on Thursday, ” Justice Sequerah said.
Najib, 66, is facing four charges under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act and 21 counts of money laundering involving 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28bil.
The Pekan MP is alleged to have committed the offences at the AmIslamic Bank Bhd at No 55, Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Ceylon between 2011 and 2014.
As for the ongoing SRC trial, Najib is facing seven charges, of which three are for criminal breach of trust, one for abuse of power and three for money laundering involving SRC International funds totalling RM42mil.
The SRC International trial resumes this afternoon before Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
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