Shafee objects to Pua's witness statement in 1MDB suit

Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has objected to the witness statement of Pua, a former member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) civil suit at the High Court.

Pua was scheduled to testify as 1MDB's second witness on events beginning in 2018 that led to the suit. However, before he could read out his witness statement, Shafee objected, arguing that much of its contents should not be admitted as evidence.

"He is giving evidence as if he were the lead investigator, almost taking the position of the inspector-general of police, on matters he only knows through second-hand sources. In reality, he is himself a second-hand source," he said.

Shafee cited as an example Pua's claim that Najib Razak had sabotaged the PAC proceedings, which he said was "mere opinion". He also objected to Pua's reliance on various media reports and statements by the Malaysian Bar on the 1MDB issue.

"If he were referring only to the Hansard, I would have no issue. Likewise, if he relied on the PAC report or official records of proceedings, I would not object because these are all official records of Parliament. Instead, he is giving his own version and his own opinions," he said.

Shafee further argued that Pua quoted statements by former PAC chairman Hasan Arifin and former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, neither of whom are witnesses in the case, thereby denying him the right to cross-examine them.

He also objected to Pua's reliance on the asset forfeiture complaint filed by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), describing it as "merely a complaint".

"It was never decided by a court. He treats the allegations in that complaint as if they were proven facts. That is like treating a statement of claim as proof of the allegations contained in it," he said, adding that Pua also offered his opinion on the identity of "Malaysian Official 1".

1MDB's counsel Lee Shih argued that Pua's references to a chronology of events were only to show that various incidents, media statements and reports did occur, in order to depict the political climate in Malaysia at the time.

"We are not calling Pua to prove the truth of those allegations... My learned friend is free to cross-examine the witness on those matters," he said.

Judicial Commissioner Redzuan Idrus allowed proceedings to be adjourned to tomorrow to let the plaintiffs file written submissions before the court rules on Shafee's application to expunge parts of the statement.

1MDB is claiming about USD5.64 billion from Najib and several others over allegedly misappropriated company funds. The suit was filed on 7 May 2021 by 1MDB and four subsidiaries – 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB Energy Ltd, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd and Global Diversified Investment Company Ltd.

Also named as defendants are former 1MDB CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, former executive director of business development Casey Tang, former deputy chief financial officer Terence Geh, former chief investment officer Vincent Beng, former chief operating officer Radhi Mohamad and former investment director Kelvin Tan.