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Lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah speaks to reporters on the Kuala Lumpur Excessive Court docket October 3, 2022. — Image by Yusof Mat Isa
By Ida Lim
Wednesday, 05 Oct 2022 12:51 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah at present agreed to chorus from attacking the prosecution by means of media statements in regards to the 1Malaysia Improvement Berhad (1MDB) trial.
Nevertheless, the defence lawyer for Datuk Seri Najib Razak stated this doesn’t imply he’ll cease talking to the press about his shopper, who’s accused of misappropriating RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds.
“I need to to begin with profusely apologise to my realized pal if there was a misconstruction of the aim of the media assertion,” Shafee stated in court docket, proffering an apology to steer prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram who warned the defence yesterday towards conducting the 1MDB trial by means of the media.
He denied making exaggerated remarks in his media assertion, telling Excessive Court docket decide Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah that he was solely making an attempt to clarify to reporters outdoors the courtroom that the cash purportedly from 1MDB was truly Saudi donations.
Lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram is pictured on the Kuala Lumpur Excessive Court docket September 12, 2022. — Image by Hari Anggara
However Sri Ram maintained that Shafee’s actions took the trial outdoors the courtroom when it ought to rightly be carried out inside earlier than the decide.
“I’ve no issue with the reason given by my realized pal as to his unhappiness with our not having produced some paperwork accorded to him,” the prosecutor stated.
“My solely level is he might have raised this earlier than Your Lordship, as a result of he has to struggle in court docket, we can’t struggle within the media. He fights within the media, does he count on me to go to the media and have your entire case taken out of Your Lordship’s arms?
“If my realized pal has any criticism towards us, we’re blissful to take it earlier than Your Lordship. We’re ready to take any brickbats from my realized pal however earlier than Your Lordship.
“I am in an invidious place as a result of I can’t reply to this, and I can solely reply earlier than Your Lordship, that’s my issue. I can be very grateful to my realized pal to chorus from doing this, if he has any criticism with how we conduct the case, he can place it earlier than Your Lordship, I’ve no downside with it,” he stated.
“All I ask of my realized pal, please do not talk about something with media, obtained something to complain, both elevate it with us or earlier than Your Lordship,” he added.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrives on the Kuala Lumpur Excessive Court docket October 3, 2022. — Image by Yusof Mat Isa
However Shafee alleged “selective reporting” by sure media shops masking the trial, purporting that the reporters targeted on the prosecution’s case and never the defence’s inquiries to witnesses throughout cross-examination.
He claimed his press statements have been to have the media additionally report the defence’s arguments in court docket.
“In any other case in view of the very fact there’s a lopsided reporting, I’ve to take the matter to clarify to them, not as a result of I am taking the trial to a different discussion board, that is not my intention. And it was not an argument earlier than the media, it was simply an evidence and placing it as bluntly as doable. That’s all,” he stated.
The decide then requested: “However I suppose this would be the finish of the matter so far as making media assertion are involved?”
Shafee stated he is not going to cease making media statements on the 1MDB trial so long as he isn’t committing contempt of court docket.
“Oh, no, Yang Arif, hardly. I’ll inform Yang Arif if there is a necessity to make a media assertion, barring contempt or being unfair, we’ll interact the media to make clear”.
However Shafee conceded that it was solely “honest” to not publicly touch upon how the prosecution runs its case and restrict his remarks to the media on how the defence does it when the decide identified that Sri Ram was saying that any touch upon the best way the prosecution is conducting the 1MDB case ought to be raised within the courtroom and never outdoors.
The decide stated this was as a result of the prosecution stated it couldn’t reply to Shafee’s complaints if he made it outdoors of court docket.
“That is honest sufficient,” Shafee reiterated.
“I suppose we are able to let issues relaxation as they’re,” the decide then stated.
The 1MDB trial resumed with the cross-examination of the thirty ninth prosecution witness, Cheah Tek Kuang, who was previously the managing director of the AmBank group.
Final Monday, Shafee issued a press assertion and held a press convention concerning proof in Najib’s 1MDB trial, claiming that the prosecution had allegedly did not disclose a number of transactions involving lots of of tens of millions of US {dollars} purportedly from a prince and the Saudi’s Finance Ministry.
Yesterday, Sri Ram advised Excessive Court docket that he objected strongly to Shafee’s press assertion and stated he’ll search a court docket order towards the defence attorneys in the event that they continued to conduct the 1MDB trial by means of the media.
On the primary day of trial, the prosecution stated it might show that RM2,282,937,678.41 or over RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds had entered Najib’s private financial institution accounts from the 1MDB scheme, together with through corporations allegedly linked to fugitive Low Taek Jho’s affiliate Eric Tan.
Whereas the prosecution has been producing bankers and a number of financial institution paperwork as a part of its efforts to show its case towards Najib to indicate that billions of ringgit had flowed into his accounts, Najib’s attorneys have been making an attempt to place forth the narrative — together with by means of 4 letters from the purported Saudi prince — that the cash have been truly donated items from Saudi royalty.
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