00:00Former Prime Minister Najib Razak told his 1MDB trial that the authorities had rushed
00:06to charge him with abuse of power without considering his explanation.
00:11He said the charges were politically motivated as he had not been informed that the prosecution
00:15had prepared them a month earlier.
00:18The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission took Najib's statements between May and September
00:21in 2018 as part of its investigation into the affairs of 1MDB.
00:26He was charged on September 20th of the same year.
00:30He told the High Court that the prosecution's failure to inquire into the elements of a
00:33proposed charge was a severe defect in the investigation, adding that he has the fundamental
00:38right to an honest, competent, and impartial investigation.
00:43Najib also insisted that he had no ulterior motive in tabling cabinet papers for Terengganu
00:47Investment Authority to secure a 5 billion ringgit loan.
00:51Najib, who was also the finance minister at the time, said that if he had wanted to control
00:56the PIA, he would have attached conditions for the finance minister to have controlling
01:00powers there, which he did not do so.
01:03Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over funds amounting
01:07to 2.28 billion ringgit, which were deposited into his Ambank accounts between February
01:122011 and December 2014.
01:16Dhanush Rajareza, FMT News.
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