Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 21): The prosecution in Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore case has objected to the former premier's request for copies of documents given by whistleblower and former PetroSaudi International (PSI) executive Xavier Justo to the authorities.

This was affirmed by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki in an affidavit to the application that was filed at the High Court yesterday.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Mustafa P Kunyalam confirmed the affidavit had been filed yesterday.

Najib's lawyers Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Al Firdaus Shahrul Naing told Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah that as a result of Azam's affidavit, they would have to file an affidavit in reply latest by Tuesday (Nov 26).

Initially, parties had agreed to a hearing date of Jan 6 for the application.

However, Shafee asked for Najib's application to be heard before that date and preferably before Christmas.

Hence, Justice Sequerah agreed to hear the application on Dec 13, which incidentally was earlier fixed as the case management date for the 1MDB-Tanore case.

Azam, in his affidavit, said the authorities received the document from Justo in official confidence.

"Hence, this is protected under Section 124 of the Evidence Act," said the MACC deputy chief commissioner.

Section 124 of the Evidence Act stipulates that no public officer shall be compelled to disclose communications made to him in official confidence when he considers that the public interest would suffer by the disclosure.

It provides that the court may require the head of the department of the officer to certify in writing whether or not such disclosure would be detrimental to the public interest and, if the head of the department certifies that such disclosure would not be prejudicial to the public interest, then the officer shall disclose the communications.

It was previously reported last month during the 1MDB-Tanore trial that Najib, through Shafee, had asked for the prosecution to supply the documents that had been provided by Justo.

Justo had gone to meet the MACC in Putrajaya on May 24 last year, and on June 26, 2018, he was interviewed by the MACC.

The Swiss national was the whistleblower who had in February 2015 gave documents related to PSI to The Edge and Sarawak Report, which helped in the 1MDB exposés.

Najib is facing four charges of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering in relation to RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds.

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