High Court strikes out disputed passage linking Najib to Jho Low

The Kuala Lumpur High Court permitted Datuk Seri Najib Razak's legal team to exclude a segment of a witness statement by former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) chief executive Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi. Counsel for Najib, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, objected to paragraph 20.4, which allegedly portrayed businessman Jho Low as a proxy for the former prime minister.

The court agreed that the disputed portion should not be considered. Earlier, Shafee raised an objection, stating that the paragraph made it seem as if Low had made the claim himself, making the evidence hearsay. Counsel GK Ganesan, representing Kelvin Tan, also submitted an objection but would address the matter during his upcoming submissions.

The plaintiffs in the suit, which was filed on May 7, 2021, include 1MDB and its subsidiaries, alleging breaches of trust, duties, and abuse of power. The suit, brought against Najib and five other former 1MDB officials, concluded with the withdrawal of 1MDB's claim against former CFO Radhi Mohamad.