EXCLUSIVE | Lawyers representing former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak have called into question how former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail and the MACC would have charged Najib with a crime, sometime in July or August 2015, without having recorded any statement from him at the time.

A source close to Najib's legal team, who declined to be named, told Malaysiakini that the lawyers also questioned if the MACC had truly completed its investigation before deciding to charge Najib.

If the investigation had been completed, the source clarified, it would mean that Najib's statement would have already been recorded at the time – precluding the need for the ex-premier from being questioned by the commission yesterday.

The source pointed to media reports saying that Gani on May 15 told Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that he had planned to charge Najib that year, before being removed from his post.

Furthermore, the lawyer added, MACC chief commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull at a press conference yesterday, also similarly said that the MACC and Gani had also planned to initiate proceedings against Najib.

"However, at that time no statement had been recorded by the MACC from Najib," the source said, and questioned how the prosecution could plan to charge Najib without the purported statement from the accused being recorded.

Najib's statement was recorded by the MACC in December 2015 and the former prime minister revealed that his session with the MACC yesterday was a more detailed continuation of the questioning it conducted in 2015.

The standard practice in criminal cases is for the statement from the accused being investigated for a crime to be recorded before the person is charged as this would be informative for the prosecutors as to whether there was a case or otherwise.

On May 16, Mahathir told reporters that Gani (photo) had disclosed to him that he was preparing to charge Najib before he was removed as attorney-general.

“I wanted to know what happened when he (Gani) was removed and what was the result of his investigation.

“He claimed he was preparing to charge Najib, and that morning he was deprived of his position,” Mahathir said.

Why the tell-all session yesterday?

Furthermore, the member of Najib's legal team also questioned Shukri's tell-all session yesterday.

"What he said is prejudicial to my client and he should not have said so, whether it is true or otherwise, for we cannot cross-examine him as these matters were not said in court. He is using the media.

"All this was revealed by Shukri after my client's statement was being recorded. It is highly improper and prejudicial. Shukri also announced this (to tell more) at the press conference on Monday and this shows he has an intention or planned to do this (session)," the source added.

If Shukri (photo), the source said, had said something in general, it would be all right. But by revealing all the matters at his tell-all session, the integrity and impartiality of the MACC investigations become questionable.

The lawyer also pointed to the MACC statement issued on Aug 5, 2015, in which it is clearly stated that it was not investigating 1MDB but on SRC International.

The statement further disclosed that 1MDB was being investigated by the police, so how could Shukri now say that the MACC was investigating 1MDB, he asked.

Furthermore, the source added, the MACC statement said it had obtained four letters from a bank to show that the purported RM2.6 billion is a donation from a Middle East person - but at the press conference yesterday, Shukri said the Saudi prince who donated had failed to show proof.

This is truly a conflicting statement, the source added.

A senior criminal lawyer, Baljit Singh Sidhu, today questioned Shukri's ethics in holding his tell-all press conference yesterday.

"Why does he have to bring up the issue with the Conference of Rulers and all other things as this would affect the integrity of the ongoing investigations.

"The investigations are going on and such matters, if true or otherwise, should be kept away from the media until it is brought to court.

"This is to safeguard the integrity and the independence of the investigations. It is also to prevent a trial by media," Baljit, who is also a member of the Criminal Law Committee of the Malaysian Bar, told Malaysiakini.

Malaysiakini, in the weeks leading up to Najib's purge on cabinet members and agency heads who stood against him in the 1MDB scandal, had also highlighted key events that appeared intended to scuttle the investigation.

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