KUALA LUMPUR – The Court of Appeal has ordered former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s defence team to proceed with today’s hearing at 12.30pm.
In rejecting the plea by lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah via notice to postpone today’s proceedings and tomorrow’s verdict, respectively, the court bench chaired by Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil said the proceedings will be held online as provided for under the Courts of Judicature Act.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Karim announced to the court that both parties will be given an hour to make their submissions.
He also said that he did not want to hear any more excuses and warned that a warrant of arrest could be issued against the accused and his bailors following their no-show this morning.
Despite counsel Harvinder Singh Sindhu’s plea to the court to delay today’s proceedings after a member of Najib’s legal team was found positive for Covid-19, Karim shot the idea down and stated that the bench will be delivering its verdict tomorrow.
Karim also rebuked Harvinder, saying that the sudden development was no excuse to delay proceedings as the court is very aware of the standard operating procedures for those classified as close contacts.
While Najib was absent during the proceedings, it is learnt that his bailor Alias Yahaya and Faizal Shamsuddin were present during the proceedings.
Earlier, Shafee had applied to the Court of Appeal via its registrar, late yesterday, to vacate tomorrow’s as well as today’s date, which had been set by the court to hear Najib’s application to include fresh evidence related to the case.
It is learnt that Shafee’s son Muhammad Farhan had tested positive for the virus, which prompted the notice to be sent to the registrar’s office late yesterday.
In the said notice, Shafee had stated that the entire defence team, including his client, have been classified as close or casual contacts with Farhan and that the judges involved needed to be notified of the matter.
Najib, Shafee further stated, is considered a close contact to the legal team as he had visited them at the firm to discuss the case.
The team had been exposed to Covid-19 after one of its members’ mother tested positive for the virus following a celebration at their house.
Subsequent tests saw the entire team testing negative with the exception of Farhan.
The team’s MySejahtera statuses were classified as close or casual contacts of Covid-19-positive persons following the results. – The Vibes, December 7, 2021
