PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has fixed Dec 8 to deliver its decision in an appeal by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his bid to obtain documents relating to investment bank Goldman Sachs and Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz for his RM2.28bil 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial.
Justice Kamaluddin Md. Said, who chaired a three-judge panel, set the date after hearing submissions from parties.
"We need some time to deliberate on the matter," he said here on Tuesday.
Other judges on the panel were Justices Ahmad Nafsy Yasin and Nordin Hassan.
The court earlier heard from Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah who accused the prosecution of doing a "belly dance" with regards to the documents.
The lawyer said there were overwhelming news and media reports that the documents they sought for exist.
"Here is the distinction, they (the prosecution) do not deny it yet they do not say that they have it.
"I give you an example of how they dance around our affidavit. They do not dispute it exists yet they tell us 'hang on it's not relevant'.
"They are dancing around us without telling us what it is, like belly dancing," Muhammad Shafee said.
Justice Kamaluddin: What do you mean (with belly dancing)?
Muhammad Shafee: They show us but not enough, not the whole thing.
The lawyer's remark left the courtroom in stitches.
Justice Kamaluddin: That's my first time hearing it.
Meanwhile, senior Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram told the court that Najib's application was merely based on news reports and a waste of judicial time.
“Some of the documents are in the hands of the United States’ Department of Justice. We are unable to produce it as it is not in our possession.
“They cannot ask us to produce documents which we do not have," he said.
Sri Ram likened Najib's application for the documents to "writing on running water" as it has "no effect".
On July 12, last year, High Court judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah dismissed Najib's application on grounds that the application was "premature".
He agreed with the prosecution that Zeti was not the person on trial and she was yet to be called to testify.
Najib filed his discovery application on March 24, 2021, as he wanted to compel the prosecution in the trial to disclose banking documents linked to Zeti’s family on claims that her family allegedly received monies from fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.
In his second application on April 7, the Pekan MP sought to obtain a confidential settlement agreement between Malaysia and US-based Goldman Sachs Group in 2020, which included the transcripts or forensics report from the phones of Tim Leissner, a former Goldman Sachs partner in Asia, as well as data on Goldman Sachs’ server involving Leissner’s communications.
The defence had submitted, amongst others, that the contents in Leissner’s mobile phone could show communication between Leissner and 1MDB officials.
They contended that the data on the Goldman Sachs server could disclose evidence that Najib had no knowledge about the criminal schemes and could reveal to whom Leissner had paid bribes and kickbacks.
