KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court on Wednesday (Aug 5) adjourned the hearing of 1Malaysia Development Berhad's (1MDB) US$5.64bil civil suit against Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and six others after the defence objected to substantial portions of the witness statement of former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua.
On the third day of the trial, Pua, the plaintiffs' second witness, was due to take the stand, but the hearing was interrupted after Najib's counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, objected to significant portions of his statement, arguing that they were based on second-hand information rather than Pua's personal knowledge.
"His statement is largely opinion-based, and he is giving evidence as though he were the chief investigator, almost in the position of the Inspector-General of Police, on matters that he only knows from second-hand sources.
"In fact, he is merely a second-hand source. I have no objection to the Hansard. But where he relies on Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today, Malaysia Insider, The Edge or other media reports, those are inadmissible.
"He also refers to investigations conducted in Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland, relying on CNBC articles and statements by the Singapore Attorney-General's Chambers. If he wants to prove those matters, he must call the relevant witnesses. Otherwise, we cannot properly cross-examine him," Muhammad Shafee submitted.
Counsel Lee Shih, appearing for the plaintiffs, countered that Pua's references to chronological facts were intended only to establish that various events, press releases and reports had taken place, and to provide the political context in Malaysia at the material time.
"Our position is that the political climate and the prevailing circumstances under the government at the time meant that the alleged fraud could only truly be uncovered after there was a change of government. That is why the issue of limitation arises. We are not calling Pua to prove the truth of the underlying allegations.
"We rely on these references only to establish that certain events occurred, whether through parliamentary statements, PAC proceedings or the Auditor-General's Report. My learned friend is free to cross-examine the witness on those facts," he said.
Lee then applied for an adjournment to enable the plaintiffs to prepare and file their written submissions in reply to the defence's objections.
Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus allowed the application and fixed the matter for continuation Thursday (Aug 6).
1MDB and its subsidiaries - 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, 1MDB Energy Limited, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited and Global Diversified Investment Company Limited, formerly known as 1MDB Global Investments Limited, filed the civil suit on May 7, 2021.
They named Najib; 1MDB's former finance director Terrence Geh Choh Heng; former executive director Casey Tang Keng Chee; former chief investment officer Vincent Beng Huat Koh; former chief operating officer Radhi Mohamad; former investment director Kelvin Tan Kay Jim; and former chief investment officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, as defendants.
The writ of summons stated that the plaintiffs, among other things, accused the defendants of breach of trust, breach of statutory duty, abuse of power and conspiracy to misappropriate 1MDB funds.
On Dec 26, 2025, the High Court sentenced Najib to 15 years' imprisonment and fined him RM11.4bil after finding him guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.3bil in 1MDB funds. - Bernama
