Shafee objects to Pua’s witness statement in 1MDB civil trial

Shafee objects to Pua’s witness statement in 1MDB civil trial


3 hours ago
Faisal Asyraf


Former prime minister Najib Razak’s counsel argues that large portions of Tony Pua’s witness statement are inadmissible

Tony Pua, a former PAC member, was scheduled to testify as 1MDB’s second witness on the events from 2018 onwards that led to the filing of its civil suit against former prime minister Najib Razak.

KUALA LUMPUR: Senior counsel Shafee Abdullah today objected to substantial portions of Tony Pua’s witness statement in the US$5.64 billion 1MDB civil suit against former prime minister Najib Razak, arguing that they contained opinion and hearsay evidence.

Pua, a former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member, was scheduled to testify as 1MDB’s second witness on the events from 2018 onwards that led to the filing of the suit.

However, before he could begin reading his witness statement in the High Court, Shafee objected, arguing that large portions of it were inadmissible.


“He is giving evidence as though he is the chief investigator, almost in the position of the inspector-general of police, on matters that he only knows of from second-hand sources. In fact, he is merely a second-hand source,” he said.

Shafee cited as an example Pua’s assertion that Najib had sabotaged PAC proceedings, describing it as “purely opinion”.


He also objected to Pua’s reliance on numerous media reports and statements by the Malaysian Bar on the 1MDB issue.

“If he had simply referred to the Hansard, I would have no issue. Likewise, if he relied on the PAC report or the official notes of proceedings, I would have no objection because those are official parliamentary records. Instead, he gives his own account and opinion,” he said.

Shafee further argued that Pua quoted individuals such as former PAC chairman Hasan Arifin and former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, neither of whom are witnesses in the case, depriving him of the opportunity to cross-examine them.

He also took issue with Pua’s reliance on the US justice department’s (DoJ) forfeiture complaint, describing it as “merely a complaint”.


“It was never adjudicated. He is treating the allegations in that complaint as though they were established facts. That is equivalent to treating a statement of claim as proof of its allegations.

“He expresses his opinion about the identity of ‘Malaysian Official 1’. If that is to be proved, then call the authors of the DoJ complaint,” he said.

Counsel Lee Shih, appearing for 1MDB, submitted that Pua’s references to the chronology of events were intended only to establish that various events, press releases and reports had taken place.

“They are there only to describe the political climate in Malaysia at that point in time. We are not calling Pua to prove the underlying truth of those allegations.


“We rely on these references only to establish that certain events occurred, whether through parliamentary statements, PAC proceedings or the Auditor-General’s Report.

“My learned friend is free to cross-examine the witness on those facts,” he said.

Lee added that Shafee himself had acknowledged that Pua was not being called to prove the truth of the matters referred to in his statement, as he was not an expert witness.

Judicial Commissioner Redzuan Idrus allowed an adjournment until tomorrow to allow the plaintiff to file written submissions before deciding on Shafee’s application to expunge portions of Pua’s witness statement.

1MDB is seeking to recover about US$5.64 billion from Najib and several other individuals, alleging that the funds were misappropriated.

1MDB and its four subsidiaries – 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB Energy Ltd, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd and Global Diversified Investment Company Ltd – filed the suit on May 7, 2021.

The suit also names former 1MDB CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, former executive director of business development Casey Tang, and former deputy chief financial officer Terence Geh.

The other defendants are former chief investment officer Vincent Beng, former chief operating officer Radhi Mohamad and former director of investments Kelvin Tan.