MACC illegal audio taping violates PM, people's rights - Najib

MACC illegal audio taping violates PM, people's rights - Najib

Hidir Reduan Abdul Rashid
Published: Jan 16, 2025 9:29 PM


Summary

• Najib Abdul Razak testifies that the MACC recording audio conversations of a prime minister and other heads of state is very upsetting as it involved transgression of fundamental rights of administration leaders and Malaysians.

• Ex-premier refers to audio recordings released to the public by then MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya in 2020.

1MDB TRIAL | Najib Abdul Razak has testified that the MACC’s covert recording of his alleged conversations was very upsetting as it violated the fundamental rights of a prime minister and that of citizens.

The former premier told the High Court convened in Putrajaya today about the authorities taping an alleged audio conversation between him and a high-ranking official from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

During the RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering trial against him, Najib expressed his discomfort when deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib grilled him over the audio recording of this alleged conversation.

The audio clip was part of several recordings released to the public by then MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya in January 2020. The prosecution relied on these in the 1MDB trial against Najib.

Najib testified that he was not certain whether one of the voices in the audio recording was of himself talking to the UAE official, adding that it was upsetting as the alleged illegal taping by MACC was a transgression of a prime minister’s rights.

"This is an illegal taping that I am not comfortable with, as sitting prime minister you have a taped conversation (with other heads of state) and I cannot verify the conversation or ascertain its authenticity, this is a serious transgression of my rights.

"It has never happened before, conversation taped and who did the taping, we do not know. It is really upsetting. The source of the taping is very disconcerting. We have to address what was done earlier, the legality of the whole thing, disturbs me.

"My lawyers will argue (in trial), for somebody as sitting premier but also other individuals with constitutional rights, and such tape used in court, it is a violation of the privacy of sitting prime minister and of conversations between two heads of governments.

"The attitude of the government that heard about this is very disturbing, their conversations with the prime minister at the time can be taped and used in a court of law. This is very upsetting from any angle, a constitutional angle, from a diplomatic angle, and Malaysian interests in the long run," Najib lamented.

The former chairperson of 1MDB's board of advisers rubbished the prosecution's claim that the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund was his “baby”.

This is consistent with Najib's defence team stance over the past six years that 1MDB was not his brainchild but rather that of the then Agong in 2009.

It was initially the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), formed by the state ruler and Agong then when Najib was still deputy prime minister.

However, in 2009, the federal government took over TIA and later renamed it 1MDB.


Six years and still going

On Oct 30 last year, Najib was ordered to defend himself against four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie (answerable) case against Najib over the Minister of Finance Incorporated’s (MOF Inc) wholly owned company.

The judge ruled that Najib had to answer the charges due to the strength of 50 witness testimonies in the prosecution stage of proceedings that lasted six years since the trial began in 2019. The accused was first charged in 2018.

Since the prima facie ruling, Najib has been testifying in his defence against the 1MDB criminal charges.

The accused maintained that he had no knowledge of wrongdoing at 1MDB and that Low and management members masterminded the embezzlement at the fund.

He is also relying on the defence that he was led to believe he would receive a donation from Arab royalty over his contribution to the Islamic world.

Lawyers Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Tania Scivetti acted for Najib.

***

kt comments:

I've always wondered about the legitimate rights of the MACC to secretly (audio) record conversations of a then-serving prime minister with other heads of state (Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi) or for that matter, anyone. Eavesdropping (electronically or by any means) on the conversations of a then-still-serving PM would be a criminal act involving national security if not anything.

Do we still remember the taped recording of Rosmah Mansor saying to then-PM Najib (words to the effect) "Can I advise you something?" being played in court?

All those MACC taped recordings were presented to court during Latheefa Koya's days as the Head of MACC. You guess who then was the PM?

The Malay Mail of 08 January 2020 reported "MACC chief Latheefa Koya told a press conference after releasing the tapes that the recordings were authentic and showed conspiracy at the highest level of government."

Admittedly as a layperson, I would have still deemed those audio-tapings of a then still-serving PM as criminal in any language and the offenders and cohorts (of any rank) to be severely punished.