Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will call former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng as a key defence witness in his ongoing 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial, his lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah confirmed.
Speaking at a press conference at the Palace of Justice on Monday (April 21), Shafee said Najib’s legal team has yet to meet Ng in person but has formally requested an interview with him ahead of his court appearance.
If Ng refuses to cooperate, Shafee said they will subpoena him—compelling his testimony through a court order.
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Speaking at a press conference at the Palace of Justice on Monday (April 21), Shafee said Najib’s legal team has yet to meet Ng in person but has formally requested an interview with him ahead of his court appearance.
If Ng refuses to cooperate, Shafee said they will subpoena him—compelling his testimony through a court order.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/ndk2dvjn
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
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NewsTranscript
00:00The last person is Roger Ng.
00:03You know, Roger Ng is...
00:06We are playing high and sick initially
00:09because we are saying he is being kept here.
00:12He is being kept by the Witness Protection.
00:15Right up from the Director of Witness Protection
00:20has been saying that...
00:22or rather they have not been wanting to confirm that.
00:26So it has been like a ping pong.
00:28But finally, we are happy to say that...
00:31Roger Ng is being brought next week...
00:34for us to produce him as a witness...
00:39so that we can ask him a lot of details...
00:43pertaining to what he knows about the actors...
00:48the real actors in the 1MDB Scandal.
00:53And perhaps he may even be able to say...
00:56that Dato Sri Najib, as far as he is concerned, is not involved.
01:00Dato Sri, have you met Mr Roger?
01:03Not chat. Not chat. Not in person.
01:06He will be brought in next week, I think, on a day.
01:10Why would he be interviewed by you?
01:12Well, we asked to be interviewed.
01:14You know, the law about interviewing a witness...
01:20has been misinterpreted everywhere.
01:23If I subpoena you, you can volunteer to allow me to interview you.
01:33And why is interview important?
01:36Interview is important, one, for the person who calls him.
01:40In this case, Dato Sri Najib.
01:43Dato Sri Najib will have an early idea...
01:46of what the witness may be saying.
01:49What is his values?
01:51But people have forgotten, it is also important to the witness.
01:55Because, can you imagine, you as a witness,
01:58you just suddenly plonk yourself on top of the witness box,
02:03or rather in the witness box,
02:05not knowing what is coming,
02:07and you are asked a question and you are supposed to answer.
02:11So, if you know, because of the interview, you are better prepared.
02:17I am better prepared, he is better prepared.
02:20So, the law has always been that they leave it to the witness,
02:24to allow himself to be interviewed.
02:27People should not discourage a witness by threatening the witness,
02:31or by telling the witness, you are not obliged to be interviewed.
02:36That is wrong.
02:37Because, assisting lawyers, assisting DPPs,
02:42always promotes the truth-finding process in the court better.
02:49Okay?
02:50Alright.
02:51Anything else?
02:53Dato Sri, just to confirm with you,
02:55just now you mentioned that Roger only be brought to court next week,
02:58is interview purpose first, or...?
03:02Well, if he allows himself to be interviewed,
03:05we can interview half an hour, or maybe one hour,
03:08then we call him straight as a witness.
03:10Can we expect any witness statement problem?
03:13Any problem?
03:14Can we expect any witness statement problem?
03:17See, he doesn't allow to be interviewed,
03:19how to prepare witness statement.
03:21He doesn't allow to be interviewed.
03:23If assuming he does not want to be interviewed,
03:26how to prepare witness statement.
03:28So, that's a third point.
03:30If he allows himself to be interviewed,
03:31I can prepare his witness statement.
03:33If he doesn't want to be interviewed,
03:35will he best be called him or?
03:36Yes.
03:37Yes.
03:38Because he has given testimony in New York.
03:40Bear in mind.
03:42He was convicted in New York.
03:43Ten years imprisonment.
03:45So, he has got very little room to manoeuvre.
03:48So, I just wanted to highlight some of the things that was found against him.
03:55You must remember, this defense of Dato' Sri Najib,
04:00if you follow the story,
04:02is that, why are you looking at Dato' Sri Najib?
04:05Or, why are you looking at him alone?
04:08When the entire board of directors failed,
04:11the management not only failed, but misled the board.
04:15The banks were themselves in the act of dishonesty.
04:22Yeah?
04:23M Islamic, for instance.
04:26And then, you have the American bank who are advisers.
04:30Goldman Sachs.
04:32They were dishonest.
04:35They were involved in fraud and conspiracy,
04:39and so on and so on.
04:41And now, we also know about the Bank Negara,
04:45the governor and her family.
04:47So, our defense is,
04:49why are you looking at Dato' Sri Najib alone?
04:52In fact, you shouldn't be looking at him,
04:54because those people who committed the offences
04:58are now mere witnesses.
05:00And Dato' Sri Najib is the only one facing the music.