AMID accusations by pro-Government cybertroopers that he was delaying his trials deliberately, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak shot back at his detractors for giving petty arguments.
“I have read the propaganda, alleging that I had deliberately delayed my trials this week using excuse that one of my lawyers had to be quarantined.
“To my critics, I say to you that I was not lying at all. One of my lawyers was instructed by the Health Ministry to undergo quarantine after several of his family members were tested positive for COVID-19,” he said in a Facebook post.
On May 3, Najib trial over the 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) involving RM2 bil and the Court of Appeal hearing for his SRC International Sdn Bhd cases were deferred after one of his lawyers was ordered to undergo quarantine.
“Both the SRC appeal and the 1MDB trial had to be deferred because a key member of our team has to undergo quarantine due to being a close contact to a number of confirmed COVID-19 patients.
“Considering the rest of the team have been working closely with him, the necessary precautions need to be taken,” lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee was reported telling The Malay Mail Online.
The lawyer’s name is currently being withheld over privacy issues.
On that note, Najib reiterated that not only his defence team has to undergo quarantine but also those from the prosecution side as they were close contact with the affected lawyer too.
“Almost everyone from the public prosecutor’s team, including the Appeals Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers, are now under quarantine for being exposed to the affected colleague,” the Pekan MP remarked. – May 7, 2021
