PUTRAJAYA (APRIL 27): Datuk Seri Najib Razak's defence argued today that it was diplomatic issues that prompted the former premier to stop former second financer minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah in 2015 from going to Switzerland to investigate why some RM3.6 billion worth of SRC International Sdn Bhd's funds was frozen there, and not personal interest.
Defence lawyer Farhan Read told the Court of Appeal today that Najib was trying to avoid "diplomatic sensitivities" when he blocked Ahmad Husni's trip, as he was concerned about any repercussions the impromptu trip might have on the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Farhan said the former premier explained this in his previous re-examination that there were other considerations at play in government-to-government communications and that a "proper plan" was required when approaching another government. He then read out an excerpt of the transcript of Najib's testimony from last year's SRC hearing at the High Court.
"It is to avoid diplomatic sensitivities.
"For example, a minister may be just concerned with his own portfolio.
"But a relationship with another country is all-encompassing, we may have certain problems in other areas," said Najib during his re-examination.
During the re-examination, Najib also hinted at Ahmad Husni potentially having his own motive for going on the trip, as the former second finance minister was upset that Najib treated him "like an office boy".
At the time, Ahmad Husni had requested the former premier to allow him to lead a delegation to Switzerland in order to retrieve the reported RM3.6 billion SRC funds that had been frozen by the Swiss authorities in 2013. It was previously reported that Najib rejected the former second finance minister's request due to Ahmad Husni not having a "proper plan".
Farhan said the former premier also explained in his previous re-examination that there were other considerations at play in government-to-government communications and that a "proper plan" was required when approaching another government. He then read out the transcript of Najib's testimony from last year's SRC hearing at the High Court.
Farhan: Please elaborate what a proper plan is and what is required?
Najib: We wanted to know who are the people, whether in this case maybe the Attorney General would be the appropriate person to go and not Datuk Seri Husni, because if it's frozen that means there were some legal measures taken by the Swiss Attorney-General and we wanted to be certain that if we were to go then it would be a productive visit. That is why it was not to say complete 'no', but we had to come up with a plan for me and for the Cabinet to discuss.
However, the prosecution argued last week that Ahmad Husni was prevented from going to Switzerland because Najib did not want anyone else to find out about his "personal interest" in the funds that were parked there.
The purpose of a proper plan
During the re-examination, Najib said the Cabinet would have to consider many different factors in approving Ahmad Husni's planned trip to Switzerland, such as the overall interest of the government and the selected minister to be dispatched.
"It cannot be seen purely from his (Ahmad Husni) own departmental request and secondly, you would have to make sure that when you visit, these people or the people you seek to meet are ready to meet you," Najib said then, based on the transcript Farhan read out.
Najib also referenced a diplomatic "embarrassment" that happened in January 2020, when the then minister of international trade and industry Datuk Darell Leiking requested to meet Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal in Davos, Switzerland during the World Economic Forum, and was turned down.
"It is embarrassing for a Malaysian minister's request to be turned down by his counterpart.
"We don't want things like that to happen and certainly we don't want Datuk Seri Husni to go there and not be received in a proper manner," Najib said, as quoted by Farhan.
Farhan was then cut short by Justice Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, who led the appellate court's three-member bench presiding over the appeal hearing, and told him to continue his submission tomorrow. Abdul Karim also urged the defence to hasten their submission as they were running out of time to complete it by tomorrow in an already long-winded appeal hearing. The other members of the bench are Justices Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
Najib was found guilty last year of seven criminal charges, comprising one count of abuse of power and three counts each of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering, involving RM42 million from SRC that ended up in the former premier's personal accounts.
He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and a fine of RM210 million for the abuse of power offence, and 10 years of imprisonment for each of the CBT and money laundering charges. The court, however, ordered the jail sentences to run concurrently, which means Najib would have to spend only 12 years behind bars. He is appealing the conviction and sentences.