APANDI BREAKS DOWN IN COURT
He thanks court for the opportunity to express his feelings that had been ‘bottled up for so long’
FORMER attorney-general (A-G) Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali could not control his emotions and cried in the courtroom yesterday. He was reduced to tears when testifying about what he had to go through when he was the A-G.
He was testifying in his defamation suit against DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang over the latter’s remarks linking him to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
Looking back at his time holding the post, Apandi said he had made sacrifices but people still condemned him.
“I had never asked for it. I never campaigned or lobbied to be the A-G.
“I was a Federal Court judge looking forward to retire when I was suddenly appointed as the AG... Judges retire at 66 years of age and I was appointed when I was 65. For pension purposes, I did not clock the full number of years and months for me to receive a full pension... it was not a pensionable post, it was a contract post.
“That is the sacrifice I have made because I was given the job and task to be the A-G,” he said.
Apandi thanked the court for giving him room to express his feelings, which he said had been bottled up for so long.
“People condemn me... Sorry I cannot proceed,” he said before tearing up.
The court then went into a short recess for Apandi to calm down as he was unable to continue with his testimony at that point.
Apandi cried as he was responding to a question from his lawyer M. Visvanathan on a foreign news article by the New York Times over the scandal.
He said that as the A-G, he was a very busy man and did not have the luxury of time to read local newspapers or foreign news as he had assumed two roles, namely, the legal adviser to the government and the public prosecutor.
“The article is a news report from the New York Times and it was reported immediately after my press conference dated Jan 26, 2016,” Apandi said.
He told the court that while holding the position, he hardly managed to take any leave from work and that the role was not just “a walk in the park”.
He added that the job had also taken a toll on his health and that he was currently subjected to check-ups at the National Heart Institute because of all the stress he faced.
The trial continues today before High Court judge Datuk Azimah Omar.
Apandi, who is now a solicitor, claimed that Lim, in an article, published by the news portal Malaysiakini, implied that he had a major role in aiding and abetting the 1MDB fiasco.
The article titled “Dangerous fallacy to think Malaysia is on the road to integrity” was published on May 6, 2019.
Apandi said the article had tainted his reputation by claiming he was directly involved, assisted and abetted in the 1MDB scandal.