KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 – The prosecution is using a fictitious and evil theory to portray former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as a “mirror image” of fugitive Low Taek Jho or vice versa in the trial against 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), his lawyer told the High Court today.
Najib’s lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin said Low’s criminal acts could not simply be attributed to Najib’s wishes and such an allegation must be proven.
He argued that “Jho Low’s criminal acts could never be equated or assimilated to the wishes or intentions of Datuk Seri Najib”, saying there must be clear direct or indirect evidence to justify such an allegation.
Wan Azwan Aiman claimed that the prosecution was resorting to this unprecedented fictitious “mirror image” theory to argue that Low’s actions should be treated as if Najib had ordered them.
He argued that the goal of the mirror image theory is to make a single person guilty or legally responsible for the different actions of two different individuals.
However, he criticized the mirror image theory used by the prosecution as a “wicked” or evil theory, saying it deviated from the legal concept of proving a common intention of several people to commit a crime.
“Interestingly, Datuk Seri Najib was never charged in this case because he had common intentions with Jho Low (a fugitive offender) in committing these offences,” he said, claiming that the prosecution acted maliciously by equating Low with Najib.
In its opening statement at the 1MDB trial, the prosecution said it would prove that Low was a mirror image of Najib and that it would present facts that would allow the irrefutable conclusion that Low and Najib had always acted as one.
The prosecution had also stated that it would prove that Najib had made it clear to 1MDB’s executives and board through his words and behavior that Low was his alter ego.
Najib’s lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin claimed that former 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi always acted out of loyalty to Low and not out of fear of Najib or coercion from the latter. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin
Among other things, Wan Azwan Aiman also claimed that former 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi always acted out of loyalty to Low and not out of fear of Najib or coercion from him.
Citing a 1MDB meeting transcript dated October 10, 2009, which recorded that Shahrol referred to a request from “special advisers” to complete the RMB 5 billion Islamic bond issuance of 1MDB’s predecessor TIA, the lawyer argued that this meant Shahrol had taken orders from Low.
Wan Azman Aiman also claimed that Shahrol was pursuing Low’s interests.
At one point he quipped: “As Yang Arif can see from our submissions, Shahrol was placed in 1MDB by Jho Low to do one simple thing: sign, steal and deliver. It’s a Stevie Wonder song, it’s a pun on that.”
Today is the fourth day that Najib’s lawyers are presenting their arguments in court as to why he should be acquitted of the four charges of abuse of power in the 1MDB trial.
Najib’s 1MDB trial before Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah will resume on September 2.
