By Timothy Achariam | The Edge Malaysia
In a first in Malaysia’s political history, three former prime ministers walked into the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex on Thursday to face their own legal battles.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to face graft charges while Datuk Seri Najib Razak is fighting out the civil suit filed by 1Malaysia Development Bhd and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is on trial for a corruption case linked to the Jana Wibawa government programme.
Ismail arrived first at about 8.45am, accompanied by his lawyer Datuk Seri Rajan Navaratnam and officers of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
Dozens of people were present at the Jalan Duta court complex to show their support for Ismail, the former vice-president of Umno who served as prime minister from August 2021 to November 2022.
He also greeted some of his supporters who were waiting at the court lobby before heading to the second floor of the right wing, where he was due to have the charges read out against him.
Ismail had been scheduled to be charged on Aug 7, but the court granted a postponement after he was required to undergo surgery for arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat caused by abnormal electrical signals in the heart.
Najib, Muhyiddin
Najib came to the court on Thursday morning escorted by prison guards from Kajang Prison through another entrance of the court complex inaccessible to the public and media.
Najib is currently on trial before High Court Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus for a lawsuit filed by the government company also known as 1MDB. The courtroom for Najib’s suit is located on the third floor of the right wing of the Duta Court Complex.
The trial, which began earlier this month, is currently hearing testimony from former 1MDB chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, who is testifying against Najib and other defendants linked to 1MDB.
He is currently serving the remainder of his six-year sentence, which was reduced from 12 years by the Pardons Board in 2024, following his conviction in the SRC International Sdn Bhd criminal trial.
Muhyiddin, meanwhile, arrived at the court lobby accompanied by an entourage that included several Bersatu party members.
He is contesting charges involving abuse of power and money laundering over bribes allegedly for the benefit of Bersatu. He then headed straight to the fifth floor of the right wing for the continuation of his trial presided by High Court Judge Noor Ruwena Muhammad Nurdin.
Edited by Jason Ng
