This means, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak will take the stand tomorrow as the first defence witness at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
A three-member bench chaired by Kamaludin Md Said said there were no special or unusual circumstances to postpone the trial.
“The Federal Court has ruled (earlier) that it is not a special circumstance even if a proceeding may be rendered a nullity,” said Kamaludin, adding that this bench was bound by the apex court’s decision.
The other judges on the bench were Nordin Hassan and Hashim Hamzah.
Kamaludin said the trial could continue in the midst of Rosmah’s appeal against a High Court ruling.
“It does not prejudice the applicant (Rosmah). However, the appeal date should be expedited,” he said.
On Sept 24, High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan ruled that Gopal Sri Ram’s appointment in August 2018 under the Criminal Procedure Code by then attorney-general Tommy Thomas was valid.
He also accepted the alternative submission by the prosecution that the present Attorney-General Idrus Harun’s backdated appointment letter for Sri Ram, which was issued on May 21, could “cure” any defect by Thomas.
Rosmah in May filed an application to disqualify Sri Ram and declare the proceeding a nullity.
Earlier today, Rosmah’s lawyer Jagjit Singh submitted that the trial is a nullity and any proceeding should be halted until determined by the Court of Appeal.
“Our complaint is that Sri Ram did not obtain proper authorisation from the AG to conduct the trial,” he said.
Sri Ram, who appeared for the prosecution, submitted that Rosmah could raise nullity as a ground of appeal should the trial court find her guilty of corruption charges.
However, he said Rosmah’s complaint would be academic should the trial judge acquit her at the close of the defence case.
“Only an accused who is appealing against conviction can raise the nullity issue,” he said.
She is charged with soliciting RM187.5 million from contractor Saidi Abang Samsudin in a solar panel project for Sarawak schools, as well as receiving RM6.5 million in cash from him.
It is alleged that the money was meant to help Saidi’s company, Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd, to secure the RM1.25 billion project.
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