KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak called in sick again today due to swollen eyes, this time as a result of an allergic reaction.
This caused his trial involving the 1Malaysia Development Sdn Bhd (1MDB) funds which has entered day-29 to be postponed.
Counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah described the swelling in the former prime minister’s eyes as ‘bigger than his (Najib's) oversized dark glasses’.
“My client (Najib) apologises for not coming (to court)… he wanted to come wearing his oversized dark glasses but the swelling was beyond that and it was too big (to cover) so he could not make it,” he said.
Shafee said earlier this morning Najib went to the International Specialist Eye Centre (ISEC) after discovering that both his eyes were swollen, suspecting it was conjunctivitis again.
He said however, this time it was not conjunctivitis but Najib was allergic to certain something.
“Tomorrow morning he might have to do a blood test but in the evening he is attending a by-election campaign in Johor Baru.
“But if (the condition of) his eyes are persistent, he might have to cancel that too,” Shafee said.
The lawyer also gave the court a copy of Najib’s medical certificate (MC) along with a microscopic picture of Najib’s swollen eyes.
“Only three of us have got this picture. I hope it is protected so it would not go on the internet and become the subject of Halloween,” he said.
This is the second time the proceedings were postponed due to Najib's eye problem.
Previously, he contracted conjunctivitis.
The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah will continue on Monday.
Najib, 66, is charged with misappropriating RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds, money laundering and abuse of power.