The Malaysian Insight

MALA fide. Just like Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, Najib Razak is certain to use bad faith to deny any charge and appeal for it to be struck off when he finally gets into the dock which could happen as soon as this week.

Anwar, now pardoned for all his offences, had said his arrest, detention, charges and trial in 1998 were tainted with mala fide or bad faith.

For Najib, the statements made by newly minted anti-graft chief Mohd Shukri Abdull suggest the investigations against him are more personal than professional.

And in a possible replay of events in the past 20 years, both personalities will share almost the same cast of prosecutors and defence lawyers in the days to come.

Lawyers familiar with the case said Najib’s lawyer Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden could and would likely use that defence to get the charges struck off. Yusof was formerly the solicitor-general II and had defended Anwar in a Bersih 3.0 case in 2014.

Ironically, Yusof had earlier prosecuted Anwar in the Sodomy II case in 2008. He quit the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in 2012 when Abdul Gani Patail was the attorney-general.

This time, Yusof will most likely square off against Gani, who is in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) task force, and was sacked in 2015 for heading a similar task force that was said to be ready to arrest Najib for millions that flowed into his account from the 1MDB-owned SRC International.

The Malaysian Insight understands that the A-GC is considering Gani as the lead prosecutor because Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali is on unrecorded leave while the Mahathir government pressures him to resign. 

And in another throwback to the past, former president of the Malaysian Bar Ragunath Kesavan is said to be on the list to assist Gani. The former A-G had worked in Ragunath’s legal firm to get his practising certificate after being fired from his post.

Ragunath will be following Najib’s personal lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s footsteps in being co-opted to prosecute a criminal case. For Shafee, it was as prosecutor for the Sodomy II appeal by Anwar.

It is learnt that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is wrapping up its investigations into Najib after two days of questioning the former prime minister last week.

Najib will become the first person in Malaysia to be hauled to court in what has been described as the world’s biggest kleptocracy case involving an estimated US$4.5 billion allegedly stolen from the state investor.

He will also be the country’s first prime minister, whether serving or retired, charged with a crime.

Three years ago, Najib was investigated over allegations that he received stolen 1MDB money – RM42 million that was funnelled from SRC International and US$731 million (RM2.6 billion) from Tanore Finance Corp.

The investigations went nowhere and the Najib administration was accused of shutting down the special task force investigating this scandal.

Of the two allegations, sources said Malaysian investigators have drawn up charges for the SRC International, as the money transfers took place in Malaysia.  

The 67-year-old Pekan MP is expected to answer charges that RM42 million was illegally transferred to his personal bank account at AmBank.

SRC International was set up in January 2011 to focus on building up Malaysia’s energy security. But from the beginning, its operations were shrouded in secrecy.

‎A year later, SRC International cut its ties with 1MDB in order to qualify for a RM4 billion loan from the government pension fund Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP).

Between December 2014 and February 2015, SRC International transferred RM50 million to its subsidiary, Gandingan Mentari, which then transferred the funds to Ihsan Perdana – a unit undertaking corporate social responsibility programmes for 1MDB.

It was from Ihsan Perdana that RM42 million flowed into the defeated prime minister’s personal accounts.

Najib had insisted that he did not commit any crime as he was unaware from where the money came and he did not instruct anyone to transfer the funds into his accounts.

His defence will be anchored on showing that it was individuals at the Ministry of Finance, SRC and Ihsan Perdana who acted on their own and that there were no written instructions from him to effect the transfer of funds from SRC International into his bank accounts.

Investigators are still putting together the other charge against Najib but it is learnt that this one is more complex as the US$731 million came from overseas accounts.

Najib has also denied that the US$731 million was from 1MDB, insisting that it was a donation from a Saudi royal. He also claimed to have returned a large portion of the donation.

MACC chief Shukri said last week the Saudi prince could not provide any document to Malaysian investigators in 2015 to prove he had transferred the money to Najib.

The new Pakatan Harapan administration has promised to bring to book anyone implicated in 1MBD’s lost billions.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government will also recover as much of the stolen funds which are believed to have been used to buy luxury properties and art in the US. – May 29, 2018.