Rafique, who is also a lawyer, said that Zahid possessed crucial evidence for Najib’s case, particularly regarding the alleged “Arab donation” received by the former prime minister into his personal account.

“Now is the most appropriate time for Zahid to fulfil his promise to help Najib.

“He should appear as a witness to confirm the identity of the Arab donor and the representatives of the donor’s family,” Rafique said in a statement.

He also said Zahid, who was Najib’s deputy prime minister in August 2015, had stated that he had met the representatives of the donor.

“Zahid had also indicated that Najib was selected to receive the donation because Malaysia is a Muslim-friendly nation,” he said.

He added that Zahid’s position as deputy prime minister would also allow him to facilitate the calling of witnesses from the Arab family to testify in court.

“Zahid is Najib’s lifeline. There is no need to feel shy when it comes to (defending) ‘Bossku’,” he said.

Earlier today, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ordered Najib to enter his defence on the 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering involving 1MDB funds.

Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Najib.

Najib is standing trial on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

Najib’s lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, told the court that the defence would call at least 11 witnesses, including the former prime minister.