Kuala Lumpur: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is trying to compel Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain to come to the High Court to testify as a defence witness in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial, as he wants to ask the top police chief about former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng and ex-1MDB in-house lawyer Jasmine Loo.
But the Home Ministry today said it will apply to set aside the subpoena or court-issued summons, which Najib obtained in order to call the IGP to be a witness in his 1MDB trial.
Senior federal counsel Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad this morning informed the High Court that Najib’s lawyers had given the subpoena to the IGP on April 14, and said the Home Ministry currently does not know and was not informed why the IGP is being asked to be a witness in Najib’s defence.
Najib’s lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin then said the defence does not actually need to give a reason, but went on to argue that the IGP’s testimony would be relevant to his client’s case.
Wan Azwan Aiman said Najib’s lawyers have been actively trying to find Ng — who has been brought back to Malaysia after being convicted in US in relation to 1MDB — and noted that the IGP had previously said Ng was in police custody.
Wan Azwan Aiman also argued it would only be fair if the IGP’s public statements on investigations relating to Loo and Ng are examined publicly in court, as those statements involve public interest.
He also said that Najib’s legal team wants the IGP to explain in court about the status of the three warrant of arrests previously issued by the court against Loo.
Trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah then scheduled May 5 to hear the Home Ministry’s application to set aside the subpoena on the IGP to appear as a defence witness in Najib’s 1MDB trial.
More to come.
