KUALA LUMPUR: Just when Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s defence team thought they had a prosecution witness on the ropes today, he struck back just before the bell.
The comeback by Datuk Suboh Mohd Yasin not only caught the lawyers back pedalling, but also led to a shouting match between the defence and prosecution teams.
It happened after Suboh had explained that the SRC International Sdn Bhd board of directors were forced to follow whatever its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil told them to do.
He said Nik Faisal had convinced the board that he was linked to Najib and they only needed to do whatever he told them.
“You know he was emboldened because of his position… he was the CEO and he was a very powerful person because he had somebody behind him.
“It was like the Chinese proverb that says ‘there is a mountain behind him’… he could just brush us aside,” he said when Najib’s lawyer Harvinderjit Singh asked him on how easily Nik Faisal had duped everyone into believing that he was the point man between Najib and SRC International.
Harvinderjit had asked Suboh whether he agreed on this but instead of giving a yes or no answer, the latter had gone on to give a lengthy explanation on what was going on in the company at that time.
Suboh was then the non-executive director of SRC International.
Harvinderjit then tried to do damage control by asking Suboh if that was just the perception of the board members as nobody had checked with Najib on the veracity of Nik Faisal’s claims.
Suboh wanted to answer the question but was cut off by the lawyer.
This infuriated lead prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram who could no longer contain his frustration as the defence lawyer had done it several times earlier.
The veteran criminal lawyer sprung up to voice his objection on the way the defence was conducting the cross-examination.
“You have asked him a question now let him finish his answer. You cannot cut him off just because you do not like to hear what he is saying,” he said angrily.
Sithambaram continued to make his point but Harvinderjit tried to interject.
This made the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) raise his voice even louder to rebuke the lawyer.
As all this was going on, another of Najib’s lawyer Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden tried to cut in and support of his colleague.
However, a visibly angry Sithambaram pointed at him and told Yusof to sit down.
Realising that things were getting heated up, Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali waved for all to calm down.
Yusof then said the witness should only answer a question posed to him with short, precise replies.
He said the witness can always expand on his answers after the cross-examination, when the prosecution re-examines him.
He then went on to cite an example of how a witness should answer if he is asked a particular question.
“If I ask whether you have hit him, you just say yes or no. You do not say I hit him because he hit me first. You can explain all that later,” he told Suboh.
However, the judge said a witness sometimes needs to expand on their answer.
At this point, another DPP got up to complain about how the defence lawyers had been giving running commentaries before posing any question but could not take it when the witness replies with a long answer.
Datuk Ishak Mohd Yusof said this had been going on since day one of the trial.
After all this was settled, Harvinderjit continued with his cross-examination but decided to cut it short after just one or two questions.
“I think it would be appropriate to ask for this to stop now and we continue tomorrow to avoid any more tension,” he said as the clock was already showing 5.20pm.
Suboh who is the 42nd witness to take the stand had yesterday and today agreed with the defence lawyers that his signature may have been forged by Nik Faisal to transfer funds out of SRC International.
He also agreed that Nik Faisal was a smart ‘fellow’ who could convince the board of directors without them doubting him.
He had been questioned extensively on such issue by Harvinderjit and also Najib’s lead lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah since yesterday.
Suboh, who is a Harvard University graduate, today confirmed that he had served in the Prime Minister’s Department from 1974 to 1977 before he was transferred to the Malaysian International Trade and Industry (Miti).
He was subsequently posted to Geneva where he headed the Malaysian Economic Affairs Unit before going to Washington DC for seven years.
Suboh said he then took up a post in the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah before returning to Malaysia and being offered the position in SRC International.
His cross-examination by Najib’s lawyers will continue tomorrow.
Najib, 66, is facing seven charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money-laundering involving RM42 million of SRC International funds.
The Pekan MP is charged with committing the offences between Aug 17, 2011 and Feb 10, 2015.
He faces 20 years’ jail and fine for the offences.