1MDB trial cut short after lawyer claims Najib didn’t sleep for days ahead of ‘house arrest’ challenge hearing

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 6 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial ended barely after one hour today, as the former prime minister was feeling unwell after having been too excited to sleep ahead of this morning’s Court of Appeal hearing on an alleged document for him to be allowed to serve his remaining jail sentence under “house arrest”.

Najib took to the witness stand just after 2.30pm, and testified for about an hour in his 1MDB trial today.

After a short break, Najib’s lead defence lawyer informed trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah of his client’s condition and requested for the trial end early for today.

“My client, Datuk Seri Najib, because of what he has been anticipating this morning, he has not been sleeping for the past three, four days.

“He is not feeling good, Encik Wan also in the same position. We wonder whether Yang Arif would be kind enough to take off now, we continue tomorrow morning,” Shafee said, referring to Najib’s other lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib said he did not object to the request, since it was “based on health reasons”.

The judge then allowed the request and instructed for the hearing to resume tomorrow morning at 9.30am.

In his testimony earlier, Najib spoke about his meetings with Arab royalty from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi during his family holidays in Europe when he was prime minister, and claimed that Low Taek Jho – now a Malaysian fugitive wanted for his role in the 1MDB scandal – just happened to be at those same meetings by chance.

Among other things, Najib referred to an “impromptu” afternoon tea with Prince Turki during his family vacation in the south of France, and a Kuwait prince and Abu Dhabi royalty’s invitation for him and his family to join them on their yacht RM Elegance in 2009.

“In regard to my casual gatherings with other Arab royalty during vacations, these were entirely social events based on personal invitations extended to my family and me by highly respected and distinguished individuals, many of whom were members of Arab royalty,” he claimed.

Najib said it would have been impolite for him to decline these invitations to these alleged informal gatherings.

“As for the presence of individuals such as Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny and Jho Low, I must stress that their attendance at these gatherings was incidental.

“Mohamed Badawy Al Husseiny, for instance, was then the CEO of Aabar Investments PJS, an established financial institution. I had no knowledge at the time of his alleged involvement in Jho Low’s schemes,” he said.

He also claimed that Low’s role at the gatherings were “limited to brief introductions and pleasantries typical of social interactions in such settings”.

Najib said the gatherings he attended were private and organised by the hosts, and claimed it would be “absurd” to suggest he had planned them.

“There was no planning or orchestration on my part to involve these individuals, nor were any ulterior motives pursued,” he said, also dismissing the idea that there was anything sinister about the presence of distinguished guests in these “family-oriented” vacations.

The 1MDB trial at the High Court is being heard in Putrajaya this week instead of the usual location in Kuala Lumpur.