KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has ruled that the prosecution has grounds to impeach former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali said the application by deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk V. Sithambaram to impeach the Pekan Member of Parliament “is not without merits”.
He will decide later today on the contradictory evidence which had been given by Najib in the SRC International Bhd corruption trial.
Najib will have to explain the contradictions once the judge rules on the matter at 2pm today.
The issue of Najib making contradictory statements was raised by Sithambaram at the onset of hearing today after the accused inevitably agreed to the DPP’s question that there were serious contradictions in his testimony and what was recorded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Sithambaram had asked Najib whether he agreed that there were serious contradictions in what he stated in his witness statement, supplementary statement and also what was recorded by the MACC when he was questioned by the graft busters in the course of investigations into SRC International affairs.
Najib’s answer was exactly what Sithambaram had hoped for when the accused said “Yes, I agree”.
Earlier, to another question, Najib also admitted that what he told the MACC and what he was saying in court, were very different.
However, he said there was a reason for this. He attempted to explain, but the prosecutor told him he would have the opportunity to do so later.
Sithambaram then went on to apply to impeach Najib under Section 145 and 155 of the Evidence Act.
Najib’s lawyers, Tan Sri Mohd Shafee Abdullah and Harvinderjit Singh, objected to the application and said an impeachment did not make sense, as their client had already provided an explanation for the difference in the statements.
Shafee also argued that the impeachment process could end up as a laborious exercise, while Harvinderjit accused the prosecution of making “a frivolous application”.
The lead defence counsel said the prosecution’s application was an attempt to circumvent the defence’s plan to call an expert witness to verify Najib’s signatures on some disputed documents.
He said Najib was not denying that he had confirmed his signature on some documents when questioned by MACC officers, but was now only disputing the authenticity of the signatures.
“There is actually no material contradiction here.
“All he is saying is that he doubts the authenticity of his signatures and wants an expert to verify it. He has explained the reason for his contradictions,” he said.
Najib, 66, is facing seven counts of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving RM42 million of SRC International funds.
He is charged with committing the offences between Aug 17, 2011 and Feb 10, 2015.
The Pekan MP faces 20-years' jail and a fine for the offences, if convicted.