SHAFEE SLAMS ‘SILLY’ CHARGES
Defence is going to have fun, says Najib’s lawyer Shafee
DATUK Seri Najib Razak’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, has labelled the latest criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges against his client as “silly”.
He said the charges concerned executive decisions made by Najib, who was then-finance minister, and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
He said the decisions were to rechannel funds earmarked for a specific purpose to other more important objectives.
“The six charges state that you have allocation of funds for a certain purpose but you made the decision to divert the funds.
“The Finance Ministry secretary-general and its minister, along with various committees, made decisions to reallocate and reprioritise the funds for more urgent purposes.
“That doesn’t mean the previous allocation remains vacant. That will be met by subsequent funding. It’s just a question of priorities.”
He said the charges had called into question the executive decisions taken by Najib and Irwan to avoid a trigger of defaults which would have been disastrous to the economy.
Shafee said the defence looked forward to the trial as “we are going to have fun”.
“We are going to have fun. The prosecution will have a nightmare. You can see the silliness of the charges as you have been charged for making management calls. We want the case to go on fast because it is a joke.”
He said the defence team would consider transferring the case to the High Court.
Earlier, Najib and Irwan claimed trial to six counts of CBT involving over RM6.6 billion of government funds. They face a maximum of 20 years’ jail, caning and fine if found guilty.
Najib later said he had done nothing for personal gain.
Speaking outside the court complex, he said allegations against him were for things he did “for the good of the country”.
“What we did was for national interest, in dealings such as servicing loans. If we did not settle these, it will be detrimental to the economy and the people.”
He urged the public not to be confused by the large figure.
“The charges are based on the implementation of projects and the servicing of loans. We have to pay after receiving money, so it should not be construed that the sum went missing.” He said the payments were guided by national interests as defaulters faced serious problems, such as decline in bond markets.
“We have contractual obligations that we have to follow in the interest of the nation.”
Najib said the charges were unreasonable and too general, and the prosecution did not indicate that he had gratified himself based on his decisions as a public servant.
His wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, declined to comment on the latest charges brought against her husband.
“I am fasting today and don’t want to add to my sins.”
You can see the silliness of the charges as you have been charged for making management calls.
TAN SRI MUHAMMAD SHAFEE ABDULLAH
Najib’s lawyer