The former prime minister, who was ousted from power in 2018, said Anwar’s statement underlined and validated his own concerns that the court cases against him were politically motivated.
Reading from his witness statement in the High Court, Najib made reference to Anwar’s admission that the prosecution of several cases following the 2018 general election was flawed as it had been done hurriedly, and with “venom” and “enmity”.
Anwar made the remark on Dec 21 last year after Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor was acquitted by another High Court of money laundering and tax evasion charges without having to go through a trial.
“Anwar’s recent remarks on flaws in the prosecutorial process strongly validate my long-standing concerns about the legal proceedings against me,” said Najib, adding that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) must now conduct a comprehensive review of all charges brought against him.
Najib also said the statement lent credence to his claim that the investigations conducted in ongoing 1MDB cases were shoddy.
The former prime minister, who also held the finance portfolio in his administration, has repeatedly claimed that the authorities, especially the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), never explained the specifics of the charges to him.
He said this prevented him from presenting a complete picture to the court and restricted him from mounting a successful defence.
“Such actions by MACC, violate the principle of due process and fairness, which are essential to any just legal system,” he added.
Defence counsel Shafee Abdullah told the court that Najib felt strongly about the matter and had instructed him to include it in the witness statement.
Shafee was responding to Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah’s query as to the relevance of Najib’s statements given that it did not concern the charges on which he is being tried.
Shafee replied it was intended to show that the cases brought against Najib were unfair.
Najib said a number of prosecution witnesses who testified, including former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo, were themselves criminally liable for several critical decisions, but were not prosecuted.
He said Loo served as a public officer during her tenure with 1MDB and facilitated transactions tied to fugitive financier Low Taek Jho (Jho Low).
Najib said she had received financial benefits exceeding RM100 million and, according to her testimony, had returned misappropriated funds to the state investor under a consent arrangement.
Najib said Loo was given protected witness status at the expense of Malaysian taxpayers.
“Why is she afforded such extraordinary measures when other individuals who were also engaged in unauthorised actions were not placed under the witness protection programme,” he asked.
Najib said that while Loo’s wrongdoings were ignored, he was made to suffer injustice and cruelty.
Despite this, Najib said he remains steadfast in his commitment to clear his name.
Najib is charged with 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to US$681 million (RM2.28 billion) deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
The hearing has been adjourned to tomorrow.