00:00Senior Counsel Shafi Abdullah has objected to substantial portions of Tony Pua's witness
00:05statement in 1MDB's civil suit against former Prime Minister Najib Razak.
00:11Pua, a former Public Accounts Committee member, was due to testify as 1MDB's second witness
00:17on events from 2018 onwards that led to the filing of the suit.
00:22However, before Pua could begin reading his statement, Shafi argued that large sections
00:27contained opinion and hearsay evidence and should not be admitted.
00:31Shafi claimed Pua was giving evidence on matters he only knew from second-hand sources,
00:36including what he described as Pua's pure opinion that Najib had sabotaged PAC proceedings.
00:42He also objected to Pua relying on media reports, Malaysian bar statements, and the US Department
00:48of Justice's forfeiture complaint, saying the complaint had never been adjudicated.
00:53Shafi further objected to Pua quoting former PAC Chairman Hassan Arifin and former Bank
00:59Negara Malaysia Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, saying neither was a witness who could be cross-examined.
01:05Counsel Lee Sheikh, appearing for 1MDB, said the references were only meant to establish
01:11the chronology of events and the political climate at the time, not to prove the truth
01:16of the allegations. Judicial Commissioner Redzwan Idris adjourned proceedings until tomorrow to allow
01:221MDB to file written submissions, before deciding on Shafi's application to expunge parts of Pua's
01:28statement. 1MDB is seeking to recover about US$5.64 billion from Najib and several others, alleging
01:36that the funds were misappropriated. Jessalyn Core, FMT.
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