THE Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court has granted Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid temporary access to her passport to travel overseas to attend an international art exhibition in Venice and to meet her lawyer in London next week.
Sessions Court judge Azrul Darus made the order after Na'imah’s lawyer M. Puravalen informed the court that his client needed her passport from July 14 until July 25.
This is the second application by the wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin to travel overseas for an art exhibition, following her visit to the Basel Art Exhibition in Switzerland last month.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry did not object to the application and the court ordered Na’imah to return the passport to the court within 48 hours of her return to the country on July 27.
Na’imah in her supporting affidavit said she would attend the art exhibition in Venice in her capacity as Yayasan Ilham board of trustee’s chairman.
Yayasan Ilham is a non-profit foundation established to carry out philanthropic and charitable acts, including promoting and exchanging art, culture, and education.
In March, Na’imah failed in her bid to get her passport – which the court had impounded – returned to her permanently.
High Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Bache dismissed her application to review the Session’s Court order to impound her passport after she was charged with failing to declare her assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“The action of the Sessions Court judge is legal, appropriate, and there is no injustice. The court confirmed the findings of the Sessions Court judge and dismissed this application,” said the judge.
On January 23, Na’imah, 66, was charged in the Sessions Court for failing to comply with the MACC notice to declare her assets, which includes Menara Ilham and several other assets in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Judge Azura Alwi granted her bail at RM250,000 with one surety and ordered the surrender of her passport to the court. — July 11, 2024.
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