This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 21, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak, wants the Court of Appeal to suspend the hearing of her case where she is alleged to have received bribes to help secure a solar hybrid project for rural Sarawak schools, pending her application to challenge the High Court’s decision to allow the prosecution to transfer the case to the High Court.

 Last Friday, High Court Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah allowed the prosecution’s application to transfer Rosmah’s case to the High Court pursuant to Section 417(1)(e) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The case was fixed for mention yesterday before the Sessions Court, to allow the prosecution team led by Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar to update the Sessions Court regarding the High Court’s decision.

However, lawyer Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, who acted for Rosmah, informed the Sessions Court that the defence team filed a notice of appeal against the High Court’s decision on Monday, and they filed a proper stay application yesterday.

Sessions Court Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah then transferred the case to the High Court.

 On Nov 15, Rosmah pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to two counts of receiving bribes totalling RM1.5 million to help secure a project to supply and install solar energy equipment at 369 rural schools in Sarawak two years ago. She was charged under Section 16(a)(A) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, and can face imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

The prosecution made the application to transfer the case to the High Court on the grounds that the application would ensure justice for all parties as the 17 charges against Rosmah under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 had been transferred to the High Court on the same basis.

Besides Rosmah, her former aide Datuk Rizal Mansor, who is charged with similar offences over the same project, had applied to transfer his case to the High Court.