KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here has vacated Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial for the rest of the week as the former prime minister continues to be warded at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).
Defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informed judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah that Najib has been issued a medical certificate dated September 14 and 15, when the hearings were supposed to take place.
According to Shafee, various more medical tests will have to be conducted on Najib before he can be discharged.
“He (Najib) himself doesn’t know how long he will be there. The information has not been provided to him. All he knows is he is being tested on a daily basis.
“Having spoken to my client, he said he is not surprised if he remains in hospital even over the weekend, because of the number of tests,” he said today.
Najib has been warded at HKL since Monday evening, after a change to his blood pressure medication was said to have had an adverse impact on his health.
Sequerah had allowed Monday’s proceeding to adjourn past noon, while yesterday’s hearing was similarly postponed due to Najib’s hospitalisation.
Shafee today presented a copy of Najib’s MC, which he obtained via WhatsApp from a Prison Department officer, to the court as evidence.
The MC issued by clinical specialist Dr Mohd Fadhli Zil Ikram Karim from HKL yesterday noted that Najib is unfit to attend court.
Najib’s 1MDB trial, where he faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount, will resume on September 26.
‘Najib’s condition improving, but not optimum’
Addressing the court today, Shafee noted that based on the latest medical report, Najib’s blood pressure is now improving since doctors reverted his medicines to the ones he has been accustomed to, although his condition is not yet at an optimal state.
He also dismissed claims that the former prime minister has constantly been given the same medications.
This is ostensibly in reference to Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s statement on Monday clarifying that the medicines prescribed during Najib’s admission were the same as the ones he had been taking previously.
“The medicines are the same. But one is original, and one is not. The generic medicines can be not as effective as the original ones,” Shafee said.
On a separate matter, Shafee bemoaned difficulties in attempting to meet his client at HKL today for updates, as he was forced to wait over three hours before finally being given approval.
Later when met by the press, the senior legal eagle said based on his brief meeting with Najib, the Pekan MP looked to be in discomfort and was not his normal cheerful self.
Asked to respond to claims that there has been no change to Najib’s medication, Shafee said: “The medicines and dosage amount are correct, but one is original and the other not. If anybody from the Health Ministry said they are identical, that’s total nonsense.”
Shafee also disputed Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s claim that prison procedures do not allow inmates to be treated at private health institutions after the former told the court yesterday that Najib might be transferred to the National Heart Institute.
“We were told by the Health Ministry themselves. They didn’t want to take the risk. He (Najib) is not the first person in prison to require specialist treatment. If the problem is serious, he has to look for specialists.
“I don’t think Khairy is right. He should look at the Prison Act,” he said. – The Vibes, September 14, 2022
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