KUALA LUMPUR – The presiding judge in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal trial has told off Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah over the latter’s complaints about perceived media bias in the reporting of the case.
Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, who heard the trial involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today, defended the media’s freedom to cover such cases, and reminded Shafee of the judidiary’s independence.
Despite taking note of the complaint, the judge told Shafee – who is Najib’s lead defence counsel – that he cannot direct the press on what manner they want to report the case as it is up to the media.
“Perhaps the reporting ought to have stated, to place things in proper perspective that objections were raised and taken (by the court) on grounds of hearsay,” Sequerah said.
“With the objection taken, obviously the veracity has yet to be tested. In any event, that is a determination for me to make at the end of the trial.”
This came after Shafee sought the high court’s guidance today in addressing what he considered recurrent and careless reporting on the 1MDB trial.
Shafee was referring to recent media reports on the trial where Najib was purportedly denying 1MDB’s CEO, Hazem Abdul Rahman, access to the US$3 billion (RM14.1 billion) raised for the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) project in 2012.
These reports were based on the testimony of the prosecution’s witness, Nur Aida Ariffin, earlier in the day. She claimed that Hazem had no control over the funds and was informed by Jho Low (Low Taek Jho) that the money was intended for funding Umno’s election.
Shafee, at the start of today’s trial, criticised such reports as biassed and prejudiced against his client, asserting that the media had ‘failed’ to cover the defence objections raised against Nur Aida’s testimony.
“The reporting is completely unfair, with facts that are jaundiced and unbecoming of any reporter or editor. It is lopsided reporting that does not cite any objections that we (the defence) have raised against the witness and her testimony.”
Expressing his concerns to the court, Shafee proposed the possibility of a ruling akin to a gag order to address the issue.
“There are various ways to deal with this, and one of the ways is to take action for contempt, which will become quite debatable. Or perhaps some kind of gag order for the lack of official words that the court can make, despite recognising that the court supports freedom of information and reporting.”
Shafee previously expressed dissatisfaction on January 5 over reports from several media outlets, including Astro Awani and the New Straits Times, claiming that Najib had bought votes in the 13th general election (GE13). These reports were also based on Nur Aida’s testimony.
Additionally, Shafee objected to the use of the term ‘kesimpulan’ (conclusion) in Nur Aida’s testimony, which signals the conclusion of her investigation into 1MDB. Shafee deemed the word inappropriate, asserting that it is not an investigating officer’s role to come to a conclusion.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib contended that the witness statement had been revised to accommodate the defence and was based solely on factual statements.
The court instructed both parties to resolve the issue over the term and the final part of the statement before the next trial date on Friday (January 26).
Najib faces four charges of using his position to obtain an alleged RM2.3 billion bribe from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
He is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence for misappropriating SRC International Sdn Bhd funds. – January 24, 2024